As you may have heard, one week ago we released two eBooks in one PDF file: BlawgWorld 2007 with TechnoLawyer Problem/Solution Guide. Currently available for free download from about 65 Web sites, you can download a copy here.
A compendium of 77 outstanding blawg posts, the BlawgWorld 2007 section of our eBook follows a well-proven model — repurposed content reaches new audiences.
For example, some people watch movies in theaters, but even more people watch them on DVD, HBO, network television, iPods, airplanes, etc.
Also, popular newspaper columnists and comic strip artists often collect their work in books. And those who write books often publish a chapter in a magazine.
Why should blogs be any different?
That's what we think, and that's also what the folks at SharedBook think. Talk about timing — the same week that we released our eBook, SharedBook released Blog2Print.
On-demand vanity publishing for blogs, Blog2Print enables bloggers and their readers to order a blog as a book (you get both a PDF eBook and a printed version). You can select the entire blog or posts within a date range, and add cover art, a dedication, and other material. At this point in time, you cannot cherry pick blog posts. Also, Blog2Print currently supports only Blogger.
Blog2Print joins Blurb in an increasingly crowded space.
Now, I personally think it's more interesting to read a collection of essays from different blogs than from one blog, but I think Blog2Print and Blurb have many potential uses.
For example, law firms that publish a blawg could use Blog2Print to send a book of their blawg posts to their clients every year.
Also, a number of blogs exist that have a beginning, middle, and end just like a book. For example, my personal favorite, The Darth Side, is a diary of Darth Vader written during Episodes V and VI, the last two Star Wars movies (sequence-wise). It's hilarious and a perfect candidate for printing in book form. In fact, the author has already made a PDF file of the blog available for download — and it's certainly easier to read the PDF file than to read the blog.
So, how well does Blog2Print work? My printer industry blogger friend Jim Lyons has already given it a spin using his own blog as the proverbial guinea pig. Read his post, Enhanced SharedBook Blogger Widget.
Also announced last week, Wikitravel introduced Wikitravel Press, a new service that enables you to print your own travel books using information from Wikitravel, a user-generated online travel guide.
(Blurb and Wikitravel Press links provided by Bob Ambrogi of Lawsites.)
About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.
