Day 3 of idea a day: Rethinking books
Before we get to the idea, a thanks to Jeff De Cagna and Jeffrey Cufaude for making the second idea better.
Before all seven days are over, I'll try to have an idea that is original (or mostly original), but today, another pilfering. I first became aware of this idea in an article for Associations Now by David Gammel in January 2006. One of the things he talked about was a publishing company called Pragmatic Programmers. Its unique way of publishing is to release a "beta" version. Interested readers download a PDF of the mostly complete book. It has typos, isn't typeset, and may contain some factual mistakes. Readers are encouraged to send corrections, which then get incorporated into the final product. It's created a collaborative book publishing environment. Its customers have ownership in the end product and the end product is better than it would have been. It's been a very successful venture for them.
It's not hard to see how associations could take advantage of this model; associations almost by definition have a community of interested people who could be significant collaborators. I also think the idea could stretch beyond book publishing. I've wondered how I could do an Associations Now issue this way. Could such an idea be adapted for other content, such as education?
And keeping with the theme of stealing ideas, here are some other places using a model similar to Pragmatic Programmers (Note: I didn't engage in any heavy research, so I'm not saying anybody did the idea first or that anybody is copying anybody else.)
Several publishers use Safari's online book publishing, a system it calls Rough Cuts. Peachpit Press is one of them.
And something that hits a little closer to home: We Have Always Done It That Way: 101 Things About Associations We Must Change by Five Independent Thinkers. This book was published as a blog before being printed and bound. Copy the idea. (And buy the book; you won't regret it.)
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Comments
In some respects this is how many Broadway shows come to fruition. They start in draft forms and are workshopped, refined based on feedback, developed further during out-of-town tryouts, and then finally opened on the Great White Way.
Posted by: Jeffrey Cufaude | January 14, 2007 4:31 PM
Your post reminded me of the book "The Wisdome of Crowds" by James Surowiecki. The book looks at the concept that better (or more accurate) decisions/predictions can be made by average of individual predictions than individuals on their own. Surowiecki had been exploring how investment markets, with a diverse population participating in, them made remarkably accurate decisions. The book goes on to apply this same fundamental to many other decision making processes. One interesting assertion that Surowiecki makes is that we are not always better off seeking experts to make hard decisions. No one, no matter how smart or experienced they may be, can hold more knowledge or experience than a large group of people. *Think Wikipedia*
Posted by: Meri Beth Wojtaszek | January 17, 2007 10:15 PM
I like the connection you make, Meri Beth, and I love Surowiecki's book. In a bit of a coincidence, Jeffrey Cufaude, who also commented on this post, has an article going in the February issue of Associations Now that has themes similar to The Wisdom of Crowds. And be sure to check out this article from the Journal of Association Leadership
Posted by: Scott Briscoe | January 17, 2007 11:24 PM
Thanks for the mention of the book, Scott. By the way, not only did we publish the first draft of all the content of the book on a blog first, we also printed out the blog when we were about one-third done, and circulated it to get more feedback (at the Great Ideas conference, of course). It's so cheap and easy to do that now, you really don't have an excuse any more.
Posted by: Jamie Notter | January 18, 2007 10:39 AM