Lulu network is a self publishing network that decided to try out Scribd iPaper Widgets as a way to distribute free content. that free content that will be converted into iPaper Widget will serve as a way to measure how does widgets enhance the content distribution and what can be learned from it.
They have called for a trail of 3 months in order to test and process how that fares up.
Lookybooks is pretty much the issuu for picture books. great and pretty widgets to check out picture books that you can embed in your blog or wherever that you can put flash in (90% of everywhere)
The site service is good and nice to visit. the main widget for the picture books and the picture book widgets while ok. they are a flawed. because while get that you want people to just have a look from the widget and then head to the main version of the digital book in the main widget at the main site. the main site lookybook player is quite underwhelming and not even then you can read most of the picturebooks properly. a real shame because they got a selection with 300 of them and the books are really great. i even read 10 of them while i was there. well. more like the ones that were readable.
That is where we get to the problem. i get they are also trying to sell the books. but they are thinking this wrong. right now they have the opportunity to correct this. and while i don`t do this often i will tel them how. this is also a thing i recommend to all widget makers that want to sell something at their site or manage media:
1.-Level up the widgets.
You got the main site done right. now you need to get the widgets right. make it possible to read the widget in the site and in the widget. just imagine how good the widgets would be if you could read them full screen and with controls?. do so. go flex if needed to.
2.-More Info
There is no info in the widget to be had. it should have all the relevant info it could have.
3.-Make it searchable
Hulu has done it and it is great. being able to extend the full reach of your whole catalogue in every widget is the best thing that could be done.
4.-Add High Spread Sharing qualities to it.
Being able to spread the widget to my blog or social network from a widget i found somewhere directly inside the widget gives it way better chances to go viral or simply get mindshare faster.
High Spread is now basic and there are plenty of player that can help to give your widget that.
5.-Monetize them
Another reason to go flex or Silverlight with the widgets is that if you are selling them you could add a extension of your e-commerce system inside the widget so people can start their purchase from the widget itself. and in the case of Lookybook, they got a good chance to have the books they sell sponsored by government programs so a little ad roll at the start of the Picturebook playing would be another way to ensure people can read the books from the widget.
Lets hope that Lookybook can make it happen. the same goes for issuu for that matter.
In the meantime….
Lookybook is very likely to be the best choice to look for picturebooks for your kids, nieces, nephews and so on without having to leave the house.
*Update* Unfortunately LookyBook closed down because of the first global economic recession in the first half of 2009. The only trace of them comes thanks to Bing Cache:
“Regrettably, we have come to the last page in our exciting adventure together. It would not have happened without your enthusiasm, support, and patronage.
Lookybook is closed simply due to lack of resources. “
A move that was 2 whole years in the making and it is finally here. Adobe launches Acrobat.com. the site that will serve as the central operations for Adobe whole online strategy and where it will extend their own version of Software + Services right now.
Acrobat.com is also serving as the perfect stage to offer Acrobat 9 and announce that it will now support Flash and later if announcements from one year ago don`t evaporate it will support the embedding of 3d objects, Advertising and even contextual controls inside a document allowing PDF documents to be 100% Internet Aware and work offline with whatever they had cached from the web (if you got a good version of Acrobat 9 of course).
Many have gone to the lengths of calling a Webtop and a Web Office competitor. this is still not true. Acrobat represents a new kind of beast of its own.
At this Launch Acrobat comes with 3 components:
Buzzword
Connect Now
Share
Widgets should come from the last one and they will be going for the Digital Document market as i had already stated before, so they are going after scribd and docstoc.
But Share and Share Widgets are not yet a competitor to the already quite advanced iPaper and neither have a document repository like scribd. it would be possible that Adobe may want to speed things up and acquire a start up in this area to dominate head on and from the start. so that is the thing to look for.
I hope this move forces Microsoft to accelerate their pace in Office Live and release their own Digital Document Widget given that such object already exist in prototypes.
But at least this means the start of Flex web widgets showing up online. sea of changes in 2008. no doubt about it.
From the few things that were true news in the past April 1st.. Scribd offer of converting your Paper documents to iPaper Flash Widget and let you have them as digital objects/documents was not one of the news that sounded real because it sounded to good to be true and because it reminded us of last year Gmail joke that assured you they would print all your mail for free.
But it turns out, it is not a Joke, it is a real offer.
I can only say i am wowed by that. and also curious because that could mean scribd is not doing as great as it could if they found the need of such a PR stunt and experiment. lets remember they still compete with DocStoc , Adobe Share , and soon they may be also competing with Microsoft, because the rumors said they will add Silverlight powered Digital Documents output to Office Live Workplace and later on to SkyDrive.
Something that is perfectly possible because a OOXML Silverlight based document viewer already exists.
But as stated, Scribd will be providing you with Digital Objects counterparts to your physical paper ones for a limited time so if you want to check what you must do to take advantage of this offer just click at the link below.
Lulu network is a self publishing network that decided to try out Scribd iPaper Widgets as a way to distribute free content. that free content that will be converted into iPaper Widget will serve as a way to measure how does widgets enhance the content distribution and what can be learned from it.
