Webook Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Webook Pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxY7BBJqKkY&feature=related
It is always interesting to see the loads of information that can be presented in less than a minute. Seeing the story being told orally was amazing, but reading between the lines was even better. I have always been interested in publishing and new innovations that will drive it and create a sense of freedom. I was immediately drawn to the following statements and comparisons; Ebay and commerce, Linux and software and wikipedia for information. To me, these were very deep statements and showed how webook was willing to take their business venture to the highest possible level with a coating of freedom. Being a user of linux and a regular visitor to wikipedia, I think webook hit a good cord which will see them accumulating significant market-share. The next generation idea was skilfully integrated to capture the present and the future users who will have vested interest in publishing. Throughout the presentation, writers were targeted in a covert manner though the message was in the open. Such a project has great potential to take of as it presents itself as a joint-venture initiative geared at benefiting all parties involve with clearly defined specifications and alternatives. The rate of expansion was also significant as it shows that the venture is thriving and will continue to do so. As a writer, I will definitely be keeping abreast with webook and their offerings. Everton
Posted in: Week 03: Analyst Bootcamp
kstooshnov 12:00 pm on September 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Everton,
It is great to see your enthusiasm for this pitch, and how you were able to identify what works about it: the comparison to other successful ventures in related fields of Web services. As the pitch is designed to attract writers, and having a panel of readers evaluate your work may seem a bit daunting, but offers more feedback than the cold, heartless rejection letters most writers are used to receiving.
An educational venture analyst would need to look into how this literary YouTube could be brought into classrooms, and how does it change the realities of publishing books. Some could even ask the tough question of what distinguishes WEbook from other on-line vanity press ventures. I’d be interested to follow up on the potential changes this service has on the eBook market.
Kyle
David William Price 12:16 pm on September 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
50/50 profit share… and if there are no profits? Whoever is charging expenses against revenues gets paid. The profit-sharers get nothing.
Also voting on books… this is a “community vote”…. but a community vote of a bunch of wannabe writers doesn’t represent the market for book buyers. It may create an incestuous market of writers and buyers, potentially… in some ways, that’s how certain markets in the “real book world” work.
Not sure how this has anything to do with Linux or eBay. Linux is about a community building products on the source code of each other and forking when opinions differ. eBay is about selling to the highest bidder. Writing and selling is about audience, genre, and marketing… seems quite different to me. The true challenge for wannabe writers is learning to write to genre and market.
bcourey 4:12 pm on September 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Good point about the community of voters David…incestuous may be the right term…I wonder if it is only wannabe writers that do the voting…it would be in their best interest to cast a wider net on the internet to see if the book would sell to a broader audience.
Everton Walker 3:06 pm on September 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
David,
The presenter was only making reference to linux in relation to how it liberates software. She was just try to show that just like those entities, webook would like to revolutionize the publishing sector in a similar manner.
Everton
Kristopher 8:58 pm on September 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi all,
I found this pitch to be a little more splash than content. The presenter was clear with good hooks (I got the sense that she used the big successful names as hooks, not as comparisons of the actual products) and described the idea well. I was left feeling like she was presenting an idea that is already out there in one form or another. Blogs offer the opportunity (when multi-auther functions are enabled) to collaborate and work together on a text, and also allow for quick publishing to the world. I didn’t see what made this product different except that perhaps by joining this group and publishing here, the author is committing to partaking in that community of practice and abide by its constructive rules? I might be stretching that a little.
Thanks for sharing,
Kristopher
Kristopher 8:59 pm on September 20, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Sorry, I re-read and realized that my comments focused more on the product than the pitch: it’s not that I believe that product is the same, but that was the feeling I was left with after the pitch. It seemed that she was more describing a pain point that the tools already existed to solve.
hall 4:37 am on September 21, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Everton,
Webook elevator pitch is a good one. It certainly could caught my attention when I viewed it,especially the 50/50 profit shares and the procedure involve in the publishing of books. It could be a solution for students and writers in developing countries who are having difficulties purchasing and publishing books respectively.