Life as a beta geek

This is the second in a series of posts with my notes from 2008 Tools of Change conference, including presentations by Brent Lewis, John Ingram and Barry Libert.

Digital Strategy and Action

Brent Lewis, Harlequin

Patiently watching the digital landscape unfold, in late 2005 Harlequin decided to enter the fray. Harlequin will highlight its digital strategy, lessons learned, and its leading e-book publishing programme.

• Digital environment — challenges.
  • Fragmentation.
  • Competition from other entertainment media.
  • Discovery.
  • Economic factors.
  • Digital generation — attitudes to copyright and cost.
• Always experiment: success = sum of all parts.
• Technology changes; outcomes don’t. Technology is only a means to an end.
• No-one knows how the future will unfold.
• Publishers need to go beyond the restrictions of the physical world.
• Publishers need to ask whether customers care what they’re doing.
• E-books are about benefits not technology:
  • immediacy
  • volume
  • portability
  • product opportunity.
• (Harlequin offers 100% of frontlist in e-books, priced below print level.)
• Be aware of problems:
  • buying process needs to be simplified
  • interoperability
  • price of reader.
• Considerations for content: digitising is just the start. Embrace the long tail. Think about consumer attention span and readability on device.
• Digital offers opportunities to do different things with format: anthologies that wouldn’t be considered in print, or out of print p-books.
• In specialist areas, brand can be leveraged to build community.
• Maintaining dialogue takes time.
• Added value can come from exclusivity or insight.
• Profound difference between customers and community.
• Phones will be important delivery platform.

The Supply Chain Evolution

John Ingram

While there is consensus about the demand for digital content, the markets and distribution mechanisms are still somewhat unclear. This session will focus on the tectonic shifts taking place in the market and the ways that publishers can adapt by partnering with companies such as Ingram.

• Digital publishing isn’t ‘either/or’, but ‘either/and’.
• Context: major developments in last year include iPhone; HP7 leaked online; huge growth at Facebook; and Kindle.
• High cost to publishers of developing digital infrastructure.
• Widgets ought to be a part of publishers’ marketing strategy.
• (An aside from me — has anyone ever seen a widget in the wild?)
• Rising numbers of visually-impaired readers — what’s the large print strategy?
• The consumer is in control.
• The audience is fragmented.
• Sales are no longer concentrated by channel.
• Flexible pricing is now the norm.
• Publishers need trusted intermediaries to host content, distribute, enforce rights and make the requisite investment in technology.
• Consolidation is inevitable.
• There is however an opportunity to grow sales.

We are Smarter Than Me: How to Unleash the Power of Crowds in Your Business

Barry Libert, Shared Insights

Many companies have benefited hugely from harnessing collective power. But not all have succeeded. There are many pitfalls to be avoided and obstacles to be overcome in tapping the wisdom of communities. If you can take on the challenge, communities and social networks can help your company invent new products and services, improve customer service, boost sales, tap into new sources of financing, and make everyone a leader. They can make your company more productive, more profitable, and a better place for the people who work and live there.

• Community builds conversations (or vice versa).
• 36% of American adults use Wikipedia.
• There are 112m+ blogs.
• There are 250m+ pieces of tagged social media.
• ‘We’ is cool.
• Companies are communitizing (sic).
• The greatest corporate strategist: Frank Sinatra - ‘My Way’.
• Golden Rules.
• Find a process to crowdsource.
• Locate your crowd.
• Give them tools and support.
• Accept their wisdom.
• Measure everyone’s contribution.
• Enterprises trying to engage in community go through the same S.A.R.A.H. cycle as the seriously ill.
  • Shock — why are our users reacting this way?
  • Anger — how dare they?
  • Rejection — who thought up this dumb idea anyway?
  • Acceptance — it’s inevitable.
  • Hope — it’s working.