All Up in Your Business by Lydia Dishman

06:09 pm | 0 recommendations | 2 comments

If eBooks Are the Future, Do Publishers Have a Plan?

The numbers are in, and eBooks may very well be the bright spot in book publishing's dim future--but only if publishers can figure out a way to keep the momentum going.

EBook sales accounted for $46.5 million as of the end of September, according to the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), but that number only represents trade eBook sales through wholesale channels. Retail numbers may be as much as double these figures due to industry wholesale discounts, says IDPF. It's a drop in the bucket for book sales overall, which amounted to about $1.26 billion for the month of September, according to the Association of American Publishers (AAP).

What's most astonishing, though, is that eBooks have sold like hotcakes without a marketing or sales strategy. Publishers are moving quick to catch up as new digital innovations come to market.

"Everybody's awake now," says Mike Shatzkin, a 40-year industry veteran and founder of the Idea Logical Company, a firm of digital publishing futurists. He lauds larger publishers such as Random House and Hachette for being way ahead in terms of the mechanics of getting eBooks to market. But one of the publishers' biggest problems, he says, is that their selling strategies are built around book formats, and not about the interests of the people reading those books.

Brian O'Leary, founder of Magellan Media, a publishing industry consultancy, agrees that the approach to finding the eBookworms varies from publisher to publisher. For instance, he notes many of Hachette Book Group's titles have had simultaneous print, audio, and e-book versions that are marketed and sold using common campaigns.

HarperStudio's publisher, Bob Miller, acknowledged that their overall strategy so far, is integrated with their print program because many of their eBooks and digital audiobooks have traditional print versions. This from the HarperCollins imprint that rocked the publishing world recently when they announced a 50-50 profit-sharing deal with authors--a departure from the traditional 7% to 15% royalty-- and publishers of the multi-media "Vook" CRUSH IT!

Miller speculates that commercial fiction categories such as thriller, mystery, suspense, romance, and science fiction will continue to sell briskly in digital format. "Readers of these genres will continue to like the convenience and low cost of this format and are less concerned about having the physical book to keep on a shelf," he says.

But O'Leary suggests publishers such as HarperStudio would do well to take a page from the genre publisher's playbook. Though he's not advocating a one-size-fits-all marketing strategy, he notes that Harlequin has enjoyed much success by marketing short-form digital downloads for Nocturnal Bites separately, and recently announced the start of a digital-only imprint.

Indeed, Harlequin Enterprise Ltd.'s Brent Lewis, vice president of digital and Internet for Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., has been leading the strategic charge of Harlequin's digital publishing and marketing programs that now reach over 50 million readers in ebooks and digital audio, as well as on Harlequin's own site, in mobile distribution, and digital-only content.

Lewis' revealed Harlequin's not-so-secret ingredient in an interview with Fast Company last year: their consumers. "At Harlequin we have a very powerful brand that people have been very loyal and engaged to since the business began."

While Harlequin has its finger on the (ahem) throbbing pulse of its readers, it will be interesting to see what strategies evolve at Random House when industry vet and ex-Amazon employee Madeline McIntosh assumes the newly created position of President, Sales, Operations, and Digital on December 1. Her appointment will "unify their physical and digital sales efforts for adult, children's, and international titles, distribution, publishing operations, IT, and corporate digital-publishing capabilities in an interconnected team," according to a statement from Markus Dohle, Random House chairman and CEO.

They managed to pull out a blockbuster under current leadership. Crain's New York Business reported sales of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol sold 100,000 e-books its first week out, or about 5% of total sales for the book. September ebook sales at Random House (much of which are presumably The Lost Symbol) pulled in $22.6 million, which is a 700% increase over Kindle sales last year. While every month can't be a Dan Brown blow-out, a good marketing strategy to find and retain loyal readers will help shore up the revenue model.

Right now, Shatzkin says eBooks are more profitable than print because there is no physical inventory, and in many cases the publisher has negotiated lower royalty payments (and other than the aforementioned specific instances, no one seems to have a marketing plan). As such, he believes Amazon, proprietors of the Kindle eReader, is subsidizing publishers for digital editions because the price they are paying up front for a digital edition is the same as for the print version.

O'Leary believes this too, will change. As publishers gain experience and sales grow, the cost of creating them will fall. "In the last year retail prices for e-books have been set lower than their print counterparts. If those lower prices stick, they will leave little room for retailer or publisher profitability under the traditional publishing model," he adds.

Yet Shatzkin wonders whether good marketing strategies and proper branding of digital books won't keep them from being cost prohibitive to the consumer. "There is plenty out there to read that's free. Will the public plunk down $25 for Ted Kennedy's eBook?" he asks, then responds, "I think it will take a while to answer that question."

02:13 pm | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

Independent Restaurant Groups Band Together to Cook Off the Sour Economy

When does free Wi-Fi, a selection of $5 entrées, and hip décor fail to draw a throng of eager diners? When it's a mom-and-pop eatery owned and operated by locals, for locals (or anyone who wants to feel like a local). The problem faced by many of these earnest endeavors is that despite trying various promotions to attract customers, the way the big chains do, they don't have the resources to reach them. Combine that lack of resources with overall tightening of consumers' wallets and it's a wonder any independent restaurants are still open for business.

But some are beating the odds.

Kokopelli Mexican Cantina, for one. The family-owned restaurant has been serving southwestern fare in Prairie Village, Kansas, for just over five years. At the end of 2009, in the midst of a lingering recession, Kevin Lyman says they will have an 8% increase over last year. "We are up 18% total spent from 2007," he adds. What's their secret sauce? "I owe all this to our rewards program through Original Restaurants," he declares.

Lyman's restaurant is part of a network of locally owned establishments called KC (Kansas City) Originals. The umbrella organization Original Restaurants was started in 2007 by Kermit Austin, an entrepreneur with years of experience developing rewards programs for restaurants and retailers. By developing a software program called PowerCard, the organization helps grow groups of locally owned restaurants in smaller metro areas through marketing programs, Rewards Card Programs, and customer satisfaction management. Independents can't (and don't want to) deliver consistently in terms of standard menus, pricing, and décor like the large chains. But by banding together under the Original Restaurants program, they can take advantage of different ways to attract and retain loyal customers the way the chains do.

The program also helps position some of the restaurants to stay competitive when the chains move in, says Austin. Most see an increase in the bottom line, Austin says: "The bump averages between 2% and 5%. Restaurants that take advantage of the email tools, birthday postcards, etc., get a better return, but even at 2%, it builds business."

The success of Kansas City Originals, spurred the creation of others in Birmingham, Louisville, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, and Columbia, SC. Austin says the six Originals now account for 147,000 Rewards Card members pouring $3.5M per month into a network of 212 locally owned restaurants. Expansion plans include launching groups in Charlotte and Phoenix in January. "We'll go in with a city-wide group and as it grows, we'll split them in to neighborhood groups," he explains.

Ultimately, Austin says the goal of Original Restaurants is to raise awareness. "These restaurateurs capture each community's flavor and unique personality. They stimulate the economy, support local charity initiatives, and offer employment opportunities within local communities. Not to mention these groups are passionate about food. Diners get great food, and a great deal. It's a win-win for everyone."

12:22 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

Will Tweet for a Book Deal

Aspiring authors check your Twitter feed. Are you witty? Are you providing a fresh perspective on something that's hot right now? Can you make your 140 characters sing with all the abbreviated elegance of a budding Bard? If so, you may be one of the lucky plucked from the millions of tweeps in the micro-blogosphere by an agent ready to make a deal.

Agents on Twitter

On Twitter, and soon maybe in real life, comic grammar and usage may outstrip the need to know if it's ever okay to mix dashes and colons. And why not when @fakeAPStylebook offers the helpful, "Do not combine a dash and a colon. It will open a portal to the Lost Tomb of Colonel McCormick," while proffering a giggle, "Also, it looks like a tiny dong." Dispensing such abbreviated witticisms earned Fake AP Stylebook a horde of loyal followers in just two short weeks. And not long after that, agreed to be represented by literary agent Kate McKean.

Kate McKean has been an agent for four years, and has spent most of that time with the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency, Inc., in New York. She says she "goes where the writers are" to search for fresh voices, often directly contacting potential authors she finds on the Web. Twitter was also her vehicle for signing Alan Beard and Alec McNayr. Their book, Historical Tweets, is due from Villard in April 2010.

Of Fake AP Stylebook, McKean says simply, the content is good and "It speaks to a specific market." What market in particular? "A market of word and writing geeks." Grammar and humor both have shelf space on the shelf in a traditional bookstore, McKean adds, and it helps that both are established markets--but also emerging ones. "There are a lot of ideas that don't have that kind of space on the shelf."

McKean admits she gets queries via Twitter, but she's not biting. Ironically, she prefers to receive solicitations through the more traditional channels of email and snail mail. Also, she wants to make it clear that she's not just looking for funny and quirky. She's looking for contemporary fiction, non-fantasy young adult (no vampires, please), crafts, and sports--with an emphasis on talent and passion. Oh, and make sure you have a platform (a large following doesn't hurt either). "That wins out over, 'look I'm trying to be funny,'" she says.

Byrd Leavell, who has spent nearly a decade discovering literary lights with the Waxman Agency, is no stranger to playing an agent in the vein of 007. He made his latest coup sleuthing with a tweet of his own, trying to find the writer behind the stream @shitmydadsays. It wasn't easy, says Leavell, because he didn't list his real name and was only following LeVar Burton.

Still it all unfolded quickly. "I spent an hour reading it, and then the next two hours trying to track the author down. But he saw my tweet, sent me a direct message, hit it off right away, and started working on the proposal the next day," says Leavell.

Leavell points out that it helped that the mystery tweep was Justin Halpern, a senior editor at Maxim.com, who not only knew his way around a sentence but who also had a large following.

"As soon as I read Justin's feed it was clear that what he was doing was funnier than anything I'd read in months and was hitting a nerve--300K followers couldn't be wrong. From that point it was simply a matter of figuring out how to package it in a book that made sense," explains Leavell. Halpern's book will be published by It Books in time for Father's Day, and, astonishingly, will also be made into a television sitcom by CBS.

Though he's kicking himself for not snagging Fake AP Stylebook, Leavell says he'll continue to look for undiscovered work in his favorite genres, narrative non-fiction and humor, on Twitter. He agrees with McKean though--no matter what the subject, "It has to work in the marketplace. It can't just be navel gazing. You have to ask, 'Would I spend $20 on this?' and the answer must be yes."

Publishers on Twitter

Publishers are also reaching out to potential new authors through Twitter. When George Plumley responded to a tweet from Matt Mullenweg, co-creator of WordPress, he didn't know that Carol Long, Executive Acquisitions Editor at Wrox Press/Wiley Publishing, was looking for a book. Plumley says he'd never even considered writing a book, but less than a month later Long had inked a deal with him to publish WordPress 24 Hour Trainer, due out this month.

Like McKean and Leavell, Long points to Plumley's feed as being professionally written and enjoying a large following. As for trying to skip over the agent, Long says that though Plumley did get representation, "It's ALWAYS great to conscribe talent for writing technical books w-o an agent, as you can qualify tech people more easily."

A Cautionary Tale

Brandon Mendelson, the self-proclaimed "Most Followed Non-Brand, Non-Celebrity, Non-Media Outlet On Twitter (for now)" recalls that he'd been working on one of the first Twitter novels in English when he was approached by a few agents. It would be enough to make the heart of any would-be novelist sing. But Mendelsohn smelled a rat. "The first one wanted to charge me, which is the first sign you should chase them back into the woods with a hand grenade," he says--tongue firmly planted in cheek. Several others couldn't provide references. Mendelsohn notes that these "agents" were also not members of the Association Of Author's Representatives (AAR). "It is not as cool as being part of the fellowship of the rings, but it's a must have," he says about the organization.

In the meantime, Mendelsohn is continuing to work the old-fashioned way, one entry at a time, for his book Dracula and Kittens. With a twitter following of more than 900,000, he's confident he's doing all he can to attract a legitimate offer. "It's incredibly hard to find a publisher for fiction as a new author, which is why I took the easy way and co-opted Bram Stoker's novel," he quips.

So for him and other hopefuls, McKean maintains, "Twitter is all about writing. You are forced to use language well and hone your skills to make it brief. Whether you'll get a book deal from Twitter, well maybe not. But it's one more outlet that I look at as an agent."

05:17 pm | 0 recommendations | 12 comments

Are Women Better Writers Than Men?

George Eliot. Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell (Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte). It has been more than a century since the likes of Mary Ann Evans and the Bronte sisters have had to disguise their gender in order to be considered worthy of a place in the literary firmament. But are they worthy? Apparently not.  

A little more than a decade ago, an unknown author decided with her publisher that in order for her novel about a young wizard to sell to middle-school boys, she’d go by the more ambiguous J.K. Rowling. Just this week, the debate reached a boiling point when Publisher’s Weekly (PW) announced their top 100 picks for 2009 -- and not one of the top 10 was penned by a woman.

The list unleashed a flurry of posts and comments across the blogosphere, most notably a press release entitled Why Weren’t Any Women Invited To Publishers Weekly’s Weenie Roast from the founders of WILLA, an organization dedicated to bringing attention to women’s literary accomplishments. 

She Writes, a Web community for women writers, declared Friday, November 13th a “Call to Action” day and encouraged members to protest by going out and buying books by women authors and voicing their concerns in response to Louisa Ermelino’s (PW’s Reviews Director) statement about the trade magazine’s “politically correct” choices.

She Writes members haven’t exactly been shy about calling out Ermelino’s staff for their methods (“kinda like buying a dress for the prom,” wrote one) while others criticized the editor’s spelling mistakes.  

But Erin Belieu, one of WILLA’s founders and director of the Creative Writing program at Florida State, wanted to cut through the cattiness and make something clear. In an email to Fast Company she wrote, “When the editors at PW stated that they weren't striving to be politically correct, they were using the "best defense is a good offense" strategy--that is, they themselves admitted that they were disturbed by the fact that they'd left women out of their top ten entirely and underrepresented them on the list as a whole."

She believes that instead of stepping back and examining some of their preconceived notions about writing and what they consider as the best and why, Belieu says, "They tried to shine it off by suggesting that any sort of feminist concern over their choices was somehow puny and intellectually frivolous--in a phrase, politically correct."

When asked if she considered women to be better writers than men, Belieu responded, “It's really hard to take the question seriously. Again, this is a very nuanced issue. So sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't."

Belieu mused that perhaps a case could be made for women being better writers overall: "Maybe we have done the best against the kind of odds most men have never had to face. So women win in the degree of difficulty category at least."

But, she noted, the point isn't whether one group is better than the other. "The point is that PW's editors' subjective bias is writ so large on that list that we at WILLA couldn't bring ourselves to ignore it.”

03:07 pm | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

Peer-to-Peer Lending Explained: Brother, Can You Spare $100?

Where do you go when you need a small loan but don't think you'll qualify for one from a bank or credit institution? You could ask your family, but doing so may ding your relationship worse than an application would ding your credit score. Or you could appeal to a stranger--and become one of a growing number of borrowers that are turning to loans provided by peer-to-peer lending institutions.

Spurred by the growth of technology that easily connects two strangers with shared interests, peer-to-peer lending is a rapidly growing sector of the financial industry that is predicted to top $5.8 billion as of 2010, according to a study by the research firm Celent. And when you consider the lingering economic slump and growing unemployment coupled with rising interest rates on credit cards and tougher requirements to qualify for bank loans, it's no wonder that personal lending networks are becoming a viable alternative. It's also a wise bet for investors: independent research by Javelin Strategy found that Lending Club offered a 9.05% return last year, beating out T-bills, CDs, S&P 500 and NASDAQ.

But the peer-to-peer lending landscape is changing just as fast as it's growing. Fiserv, a global financial services technology provider, introduced a service to allow personal loans or payments to be made securely through a bank or credit union using an email address or mobile phone number. PayMate takes it a step further, allowing the "un-banked" to lend or borrow through its own bank channel partners. Then there are non-profit vendors such as Kiva, the global granddaddy of person-to-person micro-lending, which came under scrutiny this week after a New York Times article suggested that altruistic lenders may not be giving directly to the borrower of their choice.

Confused yet? Fast Company to the rescue. We've compiled a short list of the major peer-to-peer lending players to show you how it all works.

For Profit

Lending Club

Who They Are: Lending Club is the world leader in peer-to-peer lending, with $6.3M in new loans in the month of October 2009, according to Renaud Laplanche, co-founder and CEO.

How it Works: Borrowers apply online for free and those with good credit get quick approval and funding for a lower-cost loan in as little as two weeks. Investors can either select individual recipients, or use the "portfolio builder" to select all loans that meet specific criteria. Even in the latter case, each individual loan included in the portfolio is displayed to the investor before confirming the order.

Who Gets the Money: "There is never a circumstance in which the lender/investor is providing funds to a borrower they did not select," says Laplanche.

How They Make Money: Lending Club collects origination fees from the borrowers upon closing the loan, and servicing fees from investors over the life of each investment.

What Investors Say: Chris Olguin who is semi-retired, uses Lending Club as a way to supplement his income. "Even though I like the idea of helping people with these loans and sometimes I might extend a loan to a person more based on personal feelings, my main purpose is to make money. Lending Club only approves people with good scores and has a good collection system but that doesn't mean that there will not some people that can't or won't pay, so there will be defaults, but I think the defaults are kept and a reasonable level and I can plan for them, just like I would plan for another kind of risk in any investment."

Is There an App for that? Laplanche says they have plans to make the service available via mobile phone and an iPhone application next year.

Prosper

Who They Are: Prosper Loans Marketplace is America's largest peer-to-peer lending marketplace, making over $183 million in loans since it launched in 2006, according to the company's data.

How it Works: Borrowers with good credit post their loan requirements while investors select who to loan to based on the borrower's credit history. Investors can bid interest rates on loans down in Prosper's auction process, allowing the borrower to pay less interest than on a traditional bank loan or credit card.

Who Gets the Money: Prosper lenders' bids / funds are always directed to the borrower listings they (the lender) select, says Tiffany Fox, Prosper's communications director.

How They Make Money: Revenue is fee-based, with borrowers paying a closing fee for the loan, as well as charges for late or failed payment. Investors pay a 1% annual servicing fee.

What Investors Say: "I target loans that are more 'altruistic' in nature, like schools and medical needs that were asking for low amounts," says Scott Stadum of Idealist.org, who has invested in Lending Club and Kiva in addition to Prosper. Although it was easy for him to start a lending group for returned Peace Corps volunteers on Prosper, Stadum says the Peace Corps places so many restrictions on the use of their name, he eventually shut it down. "I don't make much from interest, but I continue to invest regardless," he says.

Is there an app for that? Fox has no specifics to announce yet. "Mobile is in our development pipeline," she says.

Nonprofit

Kiva

Who They Are: Kiva says they are the world's first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, whose mission is "to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty."

How it Works: Individuals can browse entrepreneurs' profiles on Kiva, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan. Their Web site says that throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), lenders can receive email journal updates and track repayments. When the loan is repaid, lenders may choose another recipient.

Who Gets the Money: Though Kiva says it tries to maintain transparency throughout the lending process, David Roodman, a research fellow at the Center for Global Development wrote in his blogthat less that 5% of Kiva loans are disbursed after they are listed and funded on their site because they are covered by intermediating microlenders--Kiva calls them "field partners." He believes this is okay because, as Roodman told Fast Company, the lender's money will likely be going to someone else with a reasonably similar profile. As such, Roodman says, "Almost everyone involved benefits."

How They Make Money: They don't, until a loan is paid off ant the lender chooses to turn it into a donation. Still, Kiva is officially a 501c3 nonprofit entity and cautions, "Lending to the working poor through Kiva involves risk of principal loss. Kiva does not guarantee repayment nor do we offer a financial return on your loan."

What Lenders Say: Sue Russell, a self-professed skeptical journalist, says, "I selected people and projects carefully via their posted profiles and biographic details, with an admitted bias towards helping women business owners." However, after reading Roodman's take, she feels misled. "Why sit and pore over profiles of people and their families if their loans are already a done deal? That's a waste of my time." She's not totally giving up on them though. "I definitely intend to watch for further responses and assurances from Kiva's CEO."

Is There an App for That? There are several. Some will track the progress of the loan, others let you browse profiles of borrowers, drop a widget on your blog, etc.

For-Profit Facilitators

Fiserv

Who They Are: Fiserv is global provider of information management and electronic commerce systems for the financial services industry.

How it Works: Fiserv's new service will be made available to the more than 3,100 financial institutions in the Fiserv online payment network in the first half of 2010. Steve Shaw, director of Strategic Marketing, Electronic Banking Services explains: "Individuals will be able to send money to others or receive money through their existing online banking account, using an e-mail address or mobile phone number."

Who Gets the Money: Shaw says consumers will be able to send money to anyone they know, "Whether it is to repay a friend for dinner, contribute to a fundraiser, pay team dues, or pay the babysitter. Payments will be deposited directly into the recipient's account and confirmation of payment will be sent to the recipient's e-mail address or mobile number."

How They Make Money: Fiserv will charge financial institutions that offer the service a per-transaction fee.

What Lenders Say: The service isn't available yet, but Shaw notes, "Consumers will be able to use the personal payments service from Fiserv through their participating financial institution, eliminating the need to share account information with a third party payments service and resulting in both improved security and greater convenience."

PayMate

Who They Are: Headquartered in Mumbai, with additional offices in San Jose, California, PayMate is a mobile commerce services company that allows users to send and receive money via mobile phone, pay for retail purchases, monthly utility bills, flight and movie tickets and more. Their services are available throughout AsiaPacific, the Middle East, North and South America, Europe and Africa.

How It Works: With PayMate's Green Money Transfer Program, Dhruv Singh, vice president of International Business, says the unbanked and underbanked can use PayMate to send and receive money. "To our knowledge Fiserv's Personal Payment Service requires that the customers operate on their pre-existing financial institution's digital channel. An individual does not need to have a bank account to use PayMate, as the service has its own bank channel partners," says Singh.

Who Gets the Money: There are no restrictions. "As long as standard 'know your customer' validation can be provided and authorized, anyone can use PayMate's Green Money Transfer program," he says.

How They Make Money: The sender is charged a 5% fee. Singh points out that the fee is then divided between the sending agent, receiving agent, the telecommunications network, the bank, and PayMate.

What Lenders Say: Too early to tell. The program was just announced on November 5.

07:33 pm | 0 recommendations | 2 comments

Full of Jobs, Boeing's Dreamliner Lands in S.C., Will It Ever Take Off Again?

South Carolina's legislators and economic development officials were practically giddy when Boeing announced they were touching down in North Charleston. They could hardly be blamed.

In what's being touted as the biggest development deal in the state's history, officials say Boeing has committed to invest $750 million dollars in a facility that will serve as a second manufacturing line for their "green" Dreamliner 787 aircraft, creating thousands of jobs in the three county region that's currently burdened with near 10% unemployment.

"Boeing's decision to expand their presence in our state with an infusion of jobs and capital investment represents not only enormously good news for our state's economy, but also a telling dividend from our state's continued efforts to better our business climate," South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford said in a statement.

It's not clear if even the Dreamliner's massive wingspan (197 feet--think 20-story building) can lift Sanford's diminished reputation. But the governor was the legitimate MVP of the deal, says David Ginn, president and CEO of the Charleston Regional Development Association--and not just because Sanford signed a sizable incentive package for Boeing. He also led the charge to lure Vought Aircraft Industries to the state six years ago, Ginn says. Now Vought's adjacent North Charleston facility will become a key structure for Boeing's Dreamliner as Boeing acquired the Vought facility in July for approximately $580 million. For South Carolina, Sanford continued in his statement, this new deal "means lowering taxes, easing regulatory burdens in our state's tort and workers' compensation systems, and keeping South Carolina a right-to-work state."

But even as South Carolinians rejoice over the promise of the 3,800 jobs Boeing must create over the course of seven years in order to recoup their incentives from the state, the union members in Everett, Washington are crying foul.

Last September, thousands of Boeing's machinists went on a seven week strike that delayed production that delayed production of the aircraft that was already behind schedule due to weak links in the global supply chain.

In a news conference reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer this week, Machinists' Union district president Tom Wroblewski said Boeing, "betrayed Washington state's loyalty and used talks over a long-term, no-strike labor contract to leverage a better deal from South Carolina for the second 787 final assembly plant."

Charlie Grieser, a team lead on the 767 line told the Seattle Times that Boeing relied on "threats and intimidation" rather than negotiating a good faith, no-strike agreement with the machinists there. As he and other union members watch their job security vaporize, Grieser believes South Carolina will eventually suffer the same loss of jobs, regardless of being a right-to-work state. He says Boeing has another agenda. "I think they're on their way to China."

In another interview with the Seattle Times, Bobbie Skar, a shop steward on the 787 who has worked for the company 24 years, cautioned, "Boeing is going to suffer, because they don't have the trained work force in South Carolina."

South Carolina executives, officials, and educators who have grown the technical college training network, as well as undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering, advanced materials and related curriculum, refute Skar's point, citing BMW's South Carolina-based manufacturing. "When you look at the level of complexity of assembling a 7 Series, it is not all that different from an aircraft," says Dr. Christian Przirembel, vice president for research and economic development for Clemson University. "The skill sets required by the people assembling and testing are there."

Candy Eslinger, a spokesperson for Boeing Charleston, maintains that the company's decision was based on their existing footprint in the area where the new, approximately 584,000-square-foot plant will be constructed, as well as other economic advantages.

On the manufacturing side, because the Dreamliner is made primarily of carbon-fiber composite material, which is trimmed like cloth, manufacturing processes will produce less scrap material and waste. Though much of the state's water supply was in peril during last year's drought which coincided with Google's opening of a data center in the Lowcountry, Ginn says, "Water and infrastructure is not an issue." Przirembel adds, "This is not smokestack manufacturing. Even their suppliers won't be as water dependent as textile manufacturers."

Production of the first Dreamliners are scheduled to start in 2011 and the completed planes are scheduled to take flight the following year.

11:26 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

The Car of the Future Is Deep Orange

Picture the university setting for a moment. What do you see? Co-eds strolling along brick-lined paths, or holing up in the library with stacks of research materials?

Cue the sound of tires screeching to a halt.

The Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center on the campus of Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) is altogether different. Here, master's and Ph. D. candidates are ensconced in state-of-the-art labs and shops. And they're getting ready to help design and build prototypes that is transforming the traditional classroom into a model original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and supplier.

Their first prototype is in the design stage, so for the moment students are taking apart existing vehicles to determine what works and what can be improved.

It's one thing for students to design innovative technologies and hope vehicle manufacturers will eventually scoop up their ideas, but Dr. Paul Venhovens argues it's quite another exercise to take students through the actual development process, innovating all the way.

Both he and fellow professor Dr. Stephen Hung stress that Deep Orange is made possible through working with a variety of different suppliers to build the vehicle from scratch. "The curriculum is tailored to deliver technologies to companies," says Hung, pointing out that with classes on tire technologies taught by the Michelin experts headquartered just a few miles away, they are able to remain open to changing industry needs while being aware of what will actually sell in the real world. "Cost," Hung explains, "has really stoppered a lot of innovations from getting to market."

Hung points out that while most research is driven by technology, it won't work if it's too expensive. "You have to be able to track value to the person who is going to pay for it in the end to justify why technological requirements work in the car. Then how to manufacture, assemble, and deliver it."

"Students are going through the marketing basics to determine what the customers want and need. It will be a step-by-step design and manufacturing process that all our students will be involved in for two years," Venhovens adds. Students, faculty, and participating corporate partners will engineer and manufacture a new vehicle prototype each year.

This "systems integration" approach to designing and building vehicles is a radical departure from other university engineering programs, according to Dr. Venhovens, the BMW Endowed Chair in Automotive Systems Integration, who is at the helm of what CU-ICAR has dubbed the "Deep Orange" initiative.

A team from Clemson will be announcing the initiative at SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association's show in Las Vegas, on November 2nd. The 7,500-member SEMA formed a collaborative partnership with Clemson this summer, with Deep Orange at its heart.

As he walks through the various work stations in the building, Dr. Hung, sporting a v-neck sweater the color of a dark flame, says that Deep Orange, too, reflects the collaborative effort put in place when CU-ICAR was conceived and built.

The Campbell Center is a squat, grey block of a structure with a few smooth curves giving way to sharp angles. It sits on a 250-acre campus dotted with "technology neighborhoods" that house corporate partners such as BMW, SAE International, Ozen Engineering and others. The interior was specially designed to allow vehicles to drive in and out in multiple places on all but one of its floor and fitted with an array of equipment. Plus, there's plenty of space for people to work together.

Hung points out students hunched at conference tables or clustered around white boards filled with formulas and notations, already hard at work. He says they have one area to document and envision the market and then transition to other areas for what goes into the vehicle. "Their work can be reviewed and critiqued by other students and industry partners. Then they can take it apart and re-assemble it," he says noting that some of these "under the skin modifications" are aided by both the proximity of the white board designs to the vehicle in progress.

It is not the first time industry and university have worked together to innovate. Other programs are underway such as Ford Motor Company's partnership with University of Michigan to bring cloud computing and social networking to Sync, the company's in-car connectivity and communications-and-entertainment system.

The first Deep Orange prototype vehicle is scheduled to roll out the door in the spring.

11:01 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Should Unemployed Americans Look for Work Abroad?

Nine point eight percent. That's the current unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Let that sink in as you consider that as it's been inching up monthly, this is the highest it's been during the last 10 years. Indeed, American workers had good reason to party like it was 1999 that year when unemployment was a relatively low 4.2%.

Still, there are jobs out there. And some studies indicate that the chances of landing a job are far better overseas.

A recent survey by Manpower Inc. found that employment prospects are most favorable in India, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, China, Australia, Singapore, Costa Rica, Canada, Taiwan, and Poland. Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc.'s chairman and CEO says a reason for this is because the populations of developing countries are increasing nearly six times as fast as those of developed countries. "This essentially creates a magnet pulling American workers to developing nations, and moving them along as each destination stabilizes. So you can see how Prague was hot for a while for American workers, then Vietnam and Dubai."

That survey also discovered that laborers, engineers, technicians, IT professionals, and accounting staff are among the top positions that employers are filling with foreign talent.

Greg Scileppi, director of international operations at Robert Half International adds, "We're seeing growth among financial services and natural resources firms in parts of Asia and Australia. In Western Europe, demand for skilled professionals is increasing among insurance companies as well as boutique banks and private equity firms."

Joerres estimates that Manpower has placed several hundred U.S. workers in jobs overseas over the past year. It's no wonder. Of nearly 30,000 people Manpower surveyed, 79% of candidates are willing to relocate for work, and nearly one third are willing to move anywhere in the world. Forty percent are willing to make that move permanently. Are you out of work? How far are you willing to go for a paycheck?

Namaste India

Though many American companies have been outsourcing call center duties to the subcontinent for years, India is looking for a few good men and women with experience in public administration, education and wholesale/retail.

Although their hiring expectations are considerably more conservative than they were just a year ago, employers in India remain the most optimistic in the Asian-Pacific region with a brisk hiring pace forecasted in those industry sectors, according to Manpower's survey.

Dr. Kailash Khandke, professor of Economics at Furman University and assistant Dean for Study Away and International Education says in addition to naturalized Indian-American IT professionals, he's found that Americans too are moving to India since the economy soured. "Americans are embracing the notion of a globally interdependent world in the service industries, computers, information services, and hotel industry."

Dr. Khandke cites several reasons for this including the fact that English is spoken in all the urban centers in India and the general hospitality of the population. He does note that the standard of living in the cities is no longer inexpensive, however, "It is quite manageable and it is even possible to get some domestic help. I think American find this a welcome change," he adds.

Hello Canada

Our friends to the north are experiencing similar high levels of unemployment, theirs hovering at 8.4% in September, though it represents the first monthly decline since the beginning of the downturn in 2008, according to Stats Canada. Still, it is in sharp contrast to reports that have placed numbers of needed workers as high as nearly 100,000 in some provinces.

How to explain the paradox? Dr. J.C .Herbert Emery, associate Professor of Economics at the University of Calgary, who authored a labor study for Alberta, points out that their expected shortage of 93,000 workers was a number based on trend changes in the province's economy. "It assumes no adjustment in wages or changes in educational choices of students to 2015 so it is not a real shortage but instead an indicator of an emerging imbalance if nothing changes."

But that imbalance is definitely making itself felt in the IT industry. Though help desk workers and tech developers abound, Kevin Brice, North American president of MSEmploy, a job and training portal for Microsoft specialists, says there's a shortage of IT professionals in Canada, despite the shortage of jobs. He's heard at least 400,000 workers will be needed over the next three years, in particular those with specialty skills. "Companies are looking for architecture specialists, those who are designing enterprise-level applications," says Brice. It's good news for the highly trained, as well as for the economy as a whole. "It's a good sign that companies are investing in infrastructure and Microsoft has a large number of new products launching."

Brice has observed some cross-border recruiting, with more contract work on offer than full-time positions. He said no specific perks are being offered to American expats, although Alberta is offering a fast-track to permanent residency for those willing to immigrate.

Ni Hau China

Steven Weathers was co-founder and creative director of PenPointe LLC, a marketing firm, when he decided to relocate to Shanghai just before the downturn. Now the producer and host of Foreigner Perspective, Weathers has had a front-row seat to observe how the U.S. economy is affecting the Chinese.

"I've seen a decrease in foreign experts in Shanghai as many have returned to their home countries earlier than scheduled. The slowing economy here has affected many closings of schools, restaurants, and international offices." Job opportunities still exist for ESL teachers in China, just don't expect to be paid much, says Weathers who says that averages around $1,000 per month.

"The cost of living in China is still far below that of America. Renting an older Chinese apartment could cost as less as $300 a month. A good Chinese meal can cost less than $3," notes Weathers who points out that this is applicable to a large city such as Shanghai. "China's second- and third-tier cities also offer many opportunities to both foreigners and Chinese professionals from China's larger cities. While the pay there may be lower, cost of living is even 1/2 or 1/3 of that of major cities." Additionally, Weathers says that many companies are eyeing China's smaller cites for offices and plants since they are also considerably less expensive.

Get Social

In addition to getting the appropriate work visa, potential candidates should brush up on their Social Media skills. Scileppi says Robert Half has expanded their social media presence to LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, while Manpower's Joerres says in addition to their proprietary network on mypath.com, they have an exclusive agreement to provide career consulting to LinkedIn users.

Don't forget Twitter. Gary Zukowski, CEO of TweetMYJobs says that his Twitter job search service now has a database of international opportunities. The Twitter offerings are in some of the same fields as those posted by traditional recruiters. "The industries most prevalent outside the U.S. are IT, sales, business management, retail, hospitality and tourism," he says.

10:47 am | 0 recommendations | 2 comments

The Michelin Man's Modern Makeover

He started out as a bespectacled, cigar-chomping good Samaritan made from a stack of tires. Hoisting a martini glass full of road detritus. Bibendum (from the Latin, to drink) was the epitome of a tough as nails character, ready to protect unsuspecting motorists from the dangers of flat tires.

That was back in 1898, when brothers André and Edouard Michelin teamed up with French poster artist Marius O'Galop (better known as Marius Rossillon) to create an advertisement for their bicycle tires. They couldn't have possibly known that the Michelin Man would grow to become one of the most recognized advertising icons in the world.

Since then, the Michelin Man has gone through a variety of incarnations from genie to astronaut, lost his glasses, cigar and cuff links, changed color and facial features. Although his assortment of 26 tires has remained constant, Michelin corporate maintains that their beloved mascot has evolved to stay in step with the times.

Now he's changing again. Sort of. Starting tomorrow, you'll find him in print, in television spots and on the Web, in a newly-designed, animated world that pits him against the evil gas pump and the always-dangerous slick road.

The Michelin Man's become a superhero of sorts--somewhat slimmer and more expressive than before--fighting against wear and tear while increasing fuel efficiency and safety. (It's not hard to guess who emerges as the winner.)

So why would you change a successful, globally-recognized image that many companies would give their eye teeth for? Acknowledging the wildly successful "baby" ads that have touted Michelin tires for over two decades, Scott Clark, COO of Michelin America Small Tires, says it was simply time to shake up complacency. "With the baby, it was hard to move beyond safety," he explains.

In another sign of the times, Clark cites disruption as the philosophy for the redesign. "Makeover is not strong enough of a word," he says crediting the New York office of TBWA for leading the creative which he says took over a year to develop.

Mark Figliulo, chairman and chief creative officer of the New York branch of the global agency that counts Apple and McDonald's among others on their client roster, says it was a challenge to retain all that the Michelin Man has meant for over a century, while moving him into the future.

"There were rules," Figliulo says, "that challenged what could happen creatively." Indeed, the size of the tires, the shape of the face and other features had been standardized for so long, Clark admits the process of redesign created some internal tensions.

The way forward then, involved a detour. The result: "The Michelin Man's world changed more than he did. He's still a very friendly, joyful character," says Figliulo noting that by placing him in animated scenes rather than the real world, they were able to deal with fuel efficiency and safety in a much more engaging way.

Clark adds these rendered worlds will make the messaging more impactful as well as translate well to all the markets that sell Michelin tires. (Which is not insignificant: Michelin is the top selling tire brand worldwide with sales for the Michelin Group at 16.4 billion euros in 2008. North American sales reached $8.3 billion last year.)

Clark is confident that Bib's new look will be as well received as any of his past personas. "He's more dynamic and more heroic. He removes tires from himself because the right one changes everything," he states. Figliulo concurs. "We turned him into an agent of change."

10:58 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

Three Hot Books You Can't Download

What do Vladimir Nabokov, Frida Kahlo, and Ted Kennedy have in common? (You know, other than the fact that they’re all dead and each has generated his or her share of controversy.) They all have new books, just published or forthcoming, that won’t be downloadable any time soon.

E-books are a small but growing part of the publishing business. Wholesale revenues for U.S. publishers have steadily increased every quarter for the past seven years, reaching nearly $40 million at the end of June 2009, according to the International Digital Publishing Forum.

But traditional publishing is a business that’s often reactive, according to one industry insider, even with titles that are sure to stir up sales. For now, Kennedy's, Kahlo's, and Nabokov's publishers are digging in their heels and sticking to their old-school page-turning guns. So they'll hold off digital distribution, despite the rising popularity and profitability of e-books (and Jeff Bezos' aggressive vision, "to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds on Kindle.")

Frida Frenzy

There are no plans to publish an e-book of Finding Frida Kahlo, a 256-page hardcover lavishly illustrated with a recently discovered cache of drawings, journal entries, clothes, and more. The book has drawn “strong opinions on both sides” over the authenticity of the objects, says Katharine Myers, director of publicity and marketing for Princeton Architectural Press, which published the book.

The personal effects of the Mexican surrealist are pitting academics and curators against each other. Hilda Trujillo Soto, adjunct director at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, thinks “The title and the text trick people who buy the book in good faith thinking that it’s about Frida,” according to the Times. “The publisher is taking a cynical attitude. They are disseminating Frida Kahlo fakes,” she adds.

Not everyone is in a huff. Paula Frosch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, wrote for Library Journal that the book's author, Barbara Levine, “is particularly sensitive to the fragments of life one accumulates and how they can be interpreted by others. In a very personal essay, the author charts revelations about this enigmatic artist yielded by the diary entries, recipes, sketches, and letters and a starkly annotated series of images of the techniques used for the amputation of her leg.” She does not allude to the possibility that they didn’t belong to Kahlo.

Whether the stuffed hummingbirds and signatures are real or fake, for Princeton Architectural Press it’s a fairly straightforward decision not to offer a digital edition. “Ninety-five percent of our titles are not appropriate for [e-reading devices] as they are image-heavy and tend to have a lot of color,” explains Myers. “You just can’t get the full experience digitally,” she offers, adding, “We are eagerly awaiting the color version of Kindle.”

Touting Tradition for Teddy

Jonathan Karp, publisher and editor-in-chief of TWELVE, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group, has been vocal about his efforts to keep True Compass, Kennedy's memoir, in traditional book format, at least for a while.  

In an email interview with Fast Company, he stuck close to the story he offered to the Associated Press. “It was always our intention to publish the hardcover edition of True Compass first. We worked hard to produce an elegant hardcover edition of True Compass, with more than 100 pages of photos, including original artwork by Senator Kennedy.” Some of the photographs are full-color and the pages have deckle-edging, which, for the uninitiated, produces that lovely uneven ripple.

Karp also noted that TWELVE’s business plan preceded the advent of ebooks. “Our philosophy as an imprint is to publish each book individually. The e-book edition of another of our recent titles, Nurtureshock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, has been a consistent bestseller on Amazon. So there’s no dogmatic policy here.”

Weighing in at two-pounds for its 532 pages, Kennedy’s book is a certifiable tome. For heft alone, wouldn't the book benefit from a digital format, especially because some of the senator’s fans may be of an age where it's increasingly uncomfortable to hold big books for extended periods of time? Karp says, “We will make the e-book available eventually, but for this particular title, the hardcover ought to be the first format.”

Nabokov’s Odd Narrative

It was never meant to see the light of day. Vladimir Nabokov’s last novel, known as The Original of Laura, was handwritten on 138 index cards. Nabokov had instructed his wife to destroy it at his death because it was incomplete, but alas, sentiment prevented her from following his wishes. The cards passed to Nabokov’s son, Dmitri, when his mother died, leaving him with the same dilemma: share dad’s final stroke of literary might with the rest of the world, or put it in the fire.

NPR reports that after a 30-year struggle, Dmitri Nabokov decided to share. "I came to the very clear conclusion," Nabokov says, "imagining my father, with a wry smile, in a calmer and happier moment, saying, 'Well you're in a real mess here--go ahead and publish. Have some fun.'"

Knopf is bringing the book out in November, but since no one could agree on the order of the narrative (Nabokov left no instructions, nor did he number the cards), associate art director and design heavyweight Chip Kidd engineered a compromise. The book will have perforated facsimile reproductions of the cards that can be punched out and shuffled as the reader wishes.  

Though Lolita has been kindling for more than one group of fanatic book-banning activists, you won’t find her, or Laura, in a digital version any time soon. For Lolita, it may be a question of who owns the electronic rights. For The Original of Laura, Paul Bogaards, executive director of publicity at Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, says there are no plans to publish an e-book because it would detract from the unique design. "The design is integral to the book. As a publisher, we wanted to be as faithful as possible to the original."  

Bogaards cites special production elements, such as heavier weight paper, the jacket, and the quality of the binding--all adding up to a total experience for the reader. "When people see the book, and hold it, they'll understand," he underscores.

UPDATE**

Postponing Palin

Former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, penned a memoir that hit the bestseller list even before it hit the stores.  Going Rogue, scheduled for publication in November, is at the top of the charts at both Barnes & Noble and Amazon, according to the Associated Press.  But once again, the publisher has decided to wait before releasing a digital edition.  E-readers won't have to wait long, the Wall Street Journal reported that HarperCollins, Palin's publisher, will offer the e-book on December 26.