What Publishers Should Know

Russell Reeder, President and CEO

Chris Odom, Chief Technology Officer

The Digitization Adventure

• Build vs Buy• Build decision

• Hardware and software– Don't make hasty decisions– Research your implementation

• The right resources– Hire to your market strategy

• New infrastructure– Make sure you have a business model

• Partner where you can– You are not the first person to do this

The Digitization Adventure

• Build vs Buy• Buy decision

• Know your markets– Can they be met?– Can they scale to demand?– Tools to help market– Relationships to ease partnering

• Future-proof– Can they meet new markets?– Is your content extensible?– How long does it take for change?

The Digital Formats

• Know each format’s exact ins and outs• Research each format• Know the differences• Match formats to markets

• Take time for Quality Control• Not everything is 100%• Use tools where possible• Learn and adapt

• Be prepared for changes• Make the process flexible

The Digital Formats

• Create specifications• Once you figure it out, then document• Use these specs for future projects• Share them with your partners

• Acquire the rights tools• The right tools for the job• Tools that integrate easily• Minimize the learning curve

• Capture all the information you learn• Refine your process as you go• Create SOPs for each new job

Storing Content

• Stay abreast of industry standards• If you use a standard - stay on top of it• Research each new standard

• Take the best of all standards• Use what others have figured out

• Be agile enough for change• Your storage medium should be extensible

• Capture as much metadata as you can• Fractionalize content as much as possible• XML is not the only solution

Minimize Distribution Impact

• Know your distribution channels up front• Have the model in place• Learn the impact of each channel• Compare each channel for similarities

• Be prepared for pull and push technology• Make sure that you can support both• Each will use the same content but different packaging

• Discovery, Search and Retrieval methodologies• Don't forget these important capabilities

Minimize Distribution Impact

• Track everything going out to partners• This is key for knowing where your content is• It will help you with market analysis

• Use XML wherever possible• XML is a great transport medium• Get others to adopt new standards

• Follow or lead by example

Taking Control

• Create partner-to-content relationships• Separate Rights and Permissions• Map your metadata to your partner’s• Be prepared for DRM, support and implementation• Audit and certify your partner’s usage

Track Everything

• Make sure all references come back to you• Click through technology

• Store metrics within a data warehouse• Store all you can about what comes back

• Create supporting report dashboards• Use the data within BI reports

• Integrate other analytics• Google, Amazon, etc.

• Know your audience• Try to capture the who's

In Summation

• Build vs Buy• Know all about digital formats• Agnostic storage of content• Minimize your distribution costs• Take control of your content• Track everything