FastPencil today announced a robust feature update to their free social self-publishing platform that allows authors to easily write, share, publish and sell their books. FastPencil (www.fastpencil.com) now offers additional book templates, Facebook Connect, Twitter updates and distribution of e-books through Barnes & Nobile and Amazon, including iPhone reader and Kindle support.
FastPencil is now integrated with both Facebook Connect and Twitter to provide a new level of communication and collaboration. Facebook Connect enables users to connect directly to their Facebook network through FastPencil. A “scribble, tweet or share” feature in FastPencil now automatically updates Twitter, making it easier to share your thoughts and activities with your community.
“Our number one goal is to make the book-writing process simple and fun no matter who you are, what the topic is or what your experience level may be,” said Steve Wilson, FastPencil Co-Founder and CEO. “FastPencil strips out the complexity of the publishing process allowing anyone to write a book, have it published and delivered to their doorstep for under $10. By integrating with Facebook and Twitter we are making it easier for you to work with your established network of friends, colleagues and followers.”
New features also include new book templates, such as Personal Memoir, Great American Novel and Blog to Book. After deciding on a template, writers have the option to start a book from scratch or upload a completed piece of work to publish. The new distribution functionality then allows writers to sell their books and e-books on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
With FastPencil aspiring writers have access to an end-to-end solution that enables them to write a book, share their work and publish traditionally bound books or paperless e-books instantly. Once the book is complete, the FastPencil self-publishing wizard steps authors through the process of formatting for books or e-books.
FastPencil Features:
Connect with trusted friends through Facebook, Gmail, AOL, Yahoo and MSN
Integration with Twitter makes sharing easy
New site navigation
Select from a variety of book templates
Personal Memoir
Great American Novel
Blog to Book
Publish to e-book formats with iPhone reader and Kindle support
E-book distribution at online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble
New writing tools, such as spell check and indent
Portfolio page and personal profile
Enhance chapters and front and back covers with images
Author services including consulting, design services and formatting
Integrated self-publishing wizard for step-by-step assistance
FastPencil Classics: access to many royalty free titles including Tarzan of the Apes and Cinderella
Pricing and Availability
The FastPencil self-publishing platform beta is now available at http://www.FastPencil.com.
The FastPencil Basic service is free and includes book templates, writing platform and ability to connect with the community. Additional publishing packages are available at Silver and Gold levels and include consulting, author and editorial services, custom formatting and distribution. For more information on publishing services visit www.fastpencil.com/company/packages.
About FastPencil
Silicon Valley-based FastPencil takes the pain out of the entire book-writing process from concept to finished product. The FastPencil self-publishing platform enables writers to create their books online, share their work with a trusted network of friends and professionals, and publish their books on demand either as bound books or e-books.
For regular FastPencil updates follow us at www.Twitter.com/FastPencil, become a Fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FastPencil and for more information, please visit www.FastPencil.com
Daily Archives: August 18, 2009
7 posts
A new Survey confirms over three quarters of UK businesses already use Web 2.0 as alternative to email and information sharing. The survey looked at drivers and barriers for adoption of web 2.0 technologies in organisations. It showed that nearly half (46%) of respondents believe there will be a steady increase in the use of Web 2.0 in their organisations over the next 12 months and over 81% are already using it as an alternative to conventional email and for sharing information in the business environment.
The Survey was conducted among 315 respondents in June by Mesmo Consultancy, a leading email training training and consultancy company in partnership with Inbox/Outbox, the UK’s leading forum for e-marketing and collaborative communications. It investigated the adoption in business of social networking and collaborative tools -generally referred to as Web 2.0 technologies – among IT, marketing and business professionals. Over two thirds of respondents were at management level aged 36-55, over half were female, and both generation X and Y were represented with a quarter aged under 25-35.
The survey showed that within business 47% of respondents use LinkedIn and also voted it the most useful site to them from a business perspective. Facebook was cited as being least useful for business but conversely on an individual basis Facebook was seen to be useful in raising the individuals profile. It came a close second to Linkedin with Twitter and YouTube in almost joint equal third position. While, over two thirds of all respondents said they did not use social networks at work over three quarters (77.9%) said they used Facebook at home, two thirds YouTube (61%), 41% LinkedIn and 29% Twitter. My Space and others attracted only 11% or less of respondents.
Leading domain registration and web hosting company, LCN.com, today announced huge discounts on domain names and web hosting packages exclusively for twitter users following @LCN_com
Exclusive discounts in the form of promotion codes, such as 25% off .com domains and 50% off web hosting, will be sent directly to those who follow the LCN.com twitter profile, @LCN_com
Mark Boost, Managing Director, LCN.com Ltd, said “Twitter has become a fantastic platform for companies to communicate with and listen to existing and potential customers. By offering exclusive discounts to new and existing customers through Twitter we are giving them another reason to engage with us via social networking.”
“Providing promotion codes and discounts are not the only ways we are using Twitter to engage with our customers. Through Twitter we are seeking customer feedback which allows us to develop and tailor our products and services to give customers exactly what they want.”
LCN.com has been consistently evolving to help customers grow their business and the company highlights this as one of the main reasons for its extremely high customer retention rates.
Over the last 6 months LCN.com has created partnerships with leading industry brands to offer its customers over £100 free online advertising vouchers, award winning web design software, royalty free stock images, and, free email marketing credits all as part of its web hosting packages.
Follow @LCN_com on Twitter for the latest domain name and web hosting promotions: www.twitter.com/LCN_com
About LCN.com
LCN.com has been providing world class web hosting since 2000 and are one of the largest web hosting companies with 180,000 current customers and over 400,000 domain names registered since its launch in 2000. For more information, visit www.LCN.com
MSNBC Interactive News LLC (msnbc.com) has acquired Chicago-based EveryBlock, a ground-breaking site that has pioneered the local news space by offering news and information down to the neighborhood block level in 15 cities. The acquisition answers the growing consumer demand for more local news, underscores msnbc.com’s commitment to innovative news gathering and advances the site’s unique ability to deliver a fuller spectrum of news.
EveryBlock, which will continue as an independent brand, offers msnbc.com’s highly engaged “news explorers” another avenue to discover perspectives on local news, entertainment and information. EveryBlock allows users to type in their address, neighborhood name or ZIP code to view nearby news coverage, blog entries, civic data, photos and dozens of other types of information – all updated throughout the day.
“EveryBlock has developed the platform, tools and services to inform and transform community news using a data driven approach,” said Charlie Tillinghast, president of msnbc.com. “At a time when traditional news coverage of local government has declined under severe economic pressure, EveryBlock has emerged as a scalable solution to reporting basic public information. Combined with our editorial skills, presentation strengths, and the community capabilities of Newsvine, we are positioned to help EveryBlock lead us into local markets nationwide and serve as a foundation for a new form of local journalism.”
“Joining with msnbc.com gives us the resources to turn EveryBlock from a cool, useful service into something much bigger,” said Adrian Holovaty, founder of EveryBlock. “Just wait until you see what we’re cooking up.”
EveryBlock won a two-year grant (July 2007- July 2009) from The Knight Foundation for its unique development of platforms, tools and services to inform and transform community news. By joining the msnbc.com brand family, EveryBlock will have access to resources that will enable it to continue to innovate and reach more consumers on a larger scale. The combined assets and expertise will offer consumers a richer news experience and allow msnbc.com to explore new ways to work with its local partners.
Adrian Holovaty, EveryBlock’s founder, and the employees will continue to be located in the company’s Chicago office.
EveryBlock is in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Users can visit www.EveryBlock.com to keep track of what’s happening on their block, in their neighborhoods and all over their cities.
Recently named one of the top-10 “most engaged brands on the Web” for its engagement with customers and partners through its social media channel, theSAP community network, as well as through Facebook, Twitter, wikis and blogs,SAP AG(NYSE: SAP) continues to add new services and features to the SAP community network to enhance the user experience for its more than 1.7 million global members.
target=”_blank”>Wetpaint/Altimeter Group’s ENGAGEMENTdb reportranks SAP as the only business-to-business company in the top 10 of 100 global brands in terms of social media engagement, noting the company’s robust strategy, dedicated team and strong presence in social media. The report uncovers how the world’s most valuable brands are experiencing a direct correlation between financial performance and deep social media engagement.
Continuing to invest and expand its involvement in social media, SAP announced the launch of new community network offerings such as additionalBusiness Process Expert (BPX)communities dedicated to understanding International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), implementingSAP® Business Suite 7software and supporting the recently announced PlaNet Finance partnership (see “SAP and PlaNet Finance Join Forces to Create Sustainable Business Models Through Access to Microfinance and Technology”). SAP will now serve as an OpenID provider, which will enable easier access to the large network of partners and other resources offered by the SAP community network. Additional collaboration platform enhancements improve overall performance and collaboration through the addition of ratings and improved search capabilities providing members increased value from the community network.
“SAP’s innovative ‘community’ programs help it to engage deeply and build long-term loyalty with both customers and partners, while enlisting their feedback on industry-specific needs and solution requirements,” Ovum analysts Warren Wilson and Nishant Singh wrote in a recent report. “The community programs tend to foster stability in challenging economic times and growth opportunities as the economy rebounds.”
Technology Enhancements Improve the Experience of Community Users
Technology enhancements have improved the user experience for community network members by making searches and access to content easier. In response to members’ feedback, an improved user interface andsearch applicationwas delivered making information searches easier and allowing editors to identify content that is important and relevant to the entire community, increasing accessibility of resources to a larger audience. Additionally, partners will find that their content, promotional materials and links can be found more easily with the enhanced search services applications.
With the introduction of the SAP community network’s OpenID, members can use Single Identity managed byOpenID foundationto access multiple Web sites with one sign-on. Members will have the convenience of using the same identity to log onto different sites, which simplifies the overall experience by eliminating the need to remember multiple passwords and user names. OpenID will enable faster and more personalized service and greater access to information from the wide network of SAP partners. Members using OpenID will no longer need to register for new accounts as the service will automatically log users into participating Web sites, as well as authenticate and confirm that the sites are trusted.
The success of the SAP community network can be directly attributed to the openness and the ability of members to provide feedback on the content others contribute. The rating and ranking features allow direct feedback from community members to help other members navigate through the large amount of content available in the community network virtual library. Members can now provide feedback on additional resources, such as whitepapers, webinars, blogs and e-learnings. Expanding the opportunity to provide feedback will help content owners understand the relevance of their materials to other users and adhere to the quality standards expected by the community.
New Business Process Expert (BPX) Communities Added
TheBusiness Process Expert (BPX) communityis an online network that connects SAP customers, partners and community members by offering a unique forum and repository for knowledge that focuses on a wide variety of SAP-related topics. New additions include theInternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)andSAP Business Suite 7user communities, where members can post and respond to inquiries, share articles and documents, and contribute to blogs about their experiences relevant to IFRS and SAP Business Suite 7.
SAP believes that IFRS represents a major change in the way many companies currently present their financial results. The new community will focus on the impact that IFRS will have on business and how SAP solutions make the transition easier. As solutions from SAP are already IFRS capable,the communityoffers a knowledge center containing information on how to get started with IFRS projects, blogs by experts and a forum where members can ask questions about implementation. TheSAP® EcoHubsite will also contain information about SAP partners and the services they offer to help implement IFRS.
The newSAP Business Suite 7 communityoffers a forum for users of the next-generation software suite that helps businesses optimize their performance and reduce IT costs. It provides a resource for members to engage openly and learn from each other, offering materials and information about the software and industry-rich value scenarios-end-to-end business processes that focus on industry-specific outcomes that span organizational boundaries and application silos.
In support of the long-term strategic collaboration between SAP and PlaNet Finance, a leading international non-profit organization that provides support services to microfinance institutions in some of the poorest regions of the world, SAP launched anew communityinitiative to encourage active contribution by the community and help under-served markets. Upon reaching the goal of 3,000 active contributors (over 250 points) for 2009, SAP will contribute EUR 200,000 toward programs managed through its partnerPlaNet Finance.
“SAP’s communities of innovation harness the collective knowledge and power of developers, partners, customers, business process experts and others to help customers maximize their technology investments,” said Mark Yolton, senior vice president, SAP Community Network, SAP AG. “The SAP community network provides a trusted and validated environment to exchange ideas, discuss needs and identify solutions for co-innovation that leads to more revenue, growth and value for customers.”
TheSAP community networkis an active and vibrant community of customers, partners, employees and other thought leaders from around the world that share knowledge and experience on numerous SAP-related topics. It provides an open environment for experts to collaborate openly through interactive blogs, wikis and forums, giving members access to information and trusted resources so they can truly co-innovate to solve problems and obtain fast, high-quality responses to questions.
About SAP
SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software(*), offering applications and services that enable companies of all sizes and in more than 25 industries to become best-run businesses. With more than 89,000 customers in over 120 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE, under the symbol “SAP.” For more information, visitwww.sap.com
Glide Engage launches perhaps the most significant new social networking and mobile collaboration application of 2009 for the Google Android T-Mobile MyTouch and G1 Phones. Glide Engage is available for download on your Google Android T-Mobile MyTouch and G1 Phones today at http://glideos.com/mobiledownloads.html and from your desktop at http://www.GlideEngage.com and http://www.GlideOS.com.
Glide Engage is a rights-based social networking and macro or micro-blogging service that enables users to send and read messages that carry Breaking News, documents, images and other files and share their thoughts. Glide Engage is fully integrated with Glide’s productivity and collaboration application suite as well as with Glide’s synchronized, cross platform compatible file storage solution. Glide Engage provides users with 10GBs of free storage.
Users can now create text-based posts on their Google Android T-Mobile MyTouch and G1 Phones of up to 1,400 characters. Users can also engage in private or public discussions that are stored in the Glide Engage Inbox and Outbox for interaction that is more dynamic and immediate than email. Discussions can be archived as Glide Write, Microsoft Word 2007 or earlier, PDF or RTF documents. Glide Engage integrates customizable News Alerts so that users can easily track Developing News Stories and share them in posts with one click.
“We decided to launch Glide Engage on the Google Android T-Mobile MyTouch and G1 Phones first because we like the openness of the Google Android OS platform and the T-Mobile MyTouch and G1 Phones are excellent for web browsing,” said TransMedia Chairman & CEO, Donald Leka. “These factors in addition to uncertainty regarding Apple approval for potentially competitive applications with Apple’s current offerings and future plans lead to our decision to establish a foothold for Glide Engage in the mobile market before submitting an iPhone version for approval to Apple,” said Mr. Leka. “The Google Android T-Mobile G1 Phone has already sold well over one million units and according to studies has around the same web browsing market share as the iPhone did in the same time frame after its release.”
“We love Apple products but we are launching Glide Engage on Android, Blackberry, the Palm Pre, Symbian and Windows Mobile first. Our Glide Engage iPhone application is nearly complete and we will submit it to Apple for approval in the near future. In the meantime, we will continue to deliver comprehensive mobile services for the iPhone through the Safari web browser available at http://www.GlideMobile.com,” said Mr. Leka.
Glide has supported the iPhone from virtually the day it launched. The iPhone went on sale in the United States on Friday, June 29, 2007 and Glide launched support for the iPhone on Monday, July 2, 2007 with advanced capabilities including the ability to create Microsoft Word and PDF Documents on your iPhone, edit photos, automated file compatibility with users of other platforms and much more and followed shortly thereafter with Windows Media audio and video support for the iPhone, PowerPoint (PPT) support and mobile web publishing capabilities. Glide continues to provide iPhone users with advanced file sharing and collaboration compatibility with Android, Blackberry, Palm, Symbian and Windows Mobile users.
Glide Support for the iPhone:
http://www.macworld.com/article/58722/2007/07/glide.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/60013/2007/09/glide.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/59336/2007/08/glide.html
http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/glide_mobile_delivers_web_publishing_social_networking_tools_for_the_iphone
TurnTo Networks, Inc. has launched a major upgrade to the TurnTo Social Shopping Widget that offers new features to provide shoppers with more connections to trusted sources of advice with less effort.
TurnTo is also welcoming 17 more ecommerce websites to the network. These new partners are joining the TurnTo network of online stores, travel portals, and non-profit sites, all of which have upgraded to the new version.
The new TurnTo system offers expanded capabilities that foster shopper trust and provide social information to aid in purchase decisions. A shopper can now anonymously identify the number of their friends who are past-customers of a TurnTo partner store simply by entering a friends list from a source like Facebook or an email address book. If the shopper has questions, the store can ask those past-customers to serve as references, which connects them to the shopper. This strengthens the ability of the TurnTo system to find “trusted references” for shoppers by leveraging the store’s entire customer base, while completely preserving customers’ privacy.
Additionally, all shoppers – even those who do not enter a friends list – will now have access to basic social shopping information that drives increased conversion rates and raises average order value; this includes data such as which items are popular among their neighbors, which items have been highly recommended recently, and which items are hot sellers overall.
“We are delighted to see the enhancements included in the newly released TurnTo social shopping widget. It represents a big step forward with just the features we needed, and one that puts us on the cutting edge of Social Shopping,” said Amitai Sasson, Marketing Manager of overstockArt.com.
“It will boost our bottom line,” said Sherry Comes, President and Founder of CoffeeCakes.com. “With this new version, TurnTo figured out a way to deliver trusted reference information to our shoppers from day one.”
“We’ve been listening to feedback from both shoppers and our merchant partners,” said George Eberstadt, TurnTo CEO and Founder. “Both groups want the system to deliver more trusted reference information to more shoppers more easily. Our enhanced system makes that happen. We already saw substantial lift in conversion and average-order-value from the old system, and we expect the results after this upgrade to be even better.”
Welcoming New Merchant Partners
The TurnTo network has grown steadily since its launch in 2008, representing a diverse group of online merchants who recognize that people are more likely to buy from a store where they see their friends shop. TurnTo is welcoming 17 additional online merchants that have recently joined the TurnTo network and are already live or will be shortly. These new partners include:
Intrepid Travel: offering over 300 trips in over 50 countries, specializing in ‘off the beaten track’ adventures, organizing trips for 17 years, with over 30,000 travelers joining them each year.
Jomashop: No. 209 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, has been in the wholesale and retail trade of upscale luxury brand name goods such as watches, fine writing instruments, handbags and luxury crystal since it was founded in New York in 1987.
Stylin’ Trucks, a (sister) company of JC Whitney: a 20-year leader in providing performance products for sport, off-road and pick-up trucks, as well as SUVs. Parent auto parts retailer J.C. Whitney & Co. is No. 115 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
EyeBuyDirect: A leading online eyewear seller and an Internet Retailer Hot 100, EyeBuyDirect is a global prescription lab and optical retailer specializing in the volume production of affordable prescription eyeglasses.
Overstock Art: the Internet leader in hand painted oil painting reproductions at clearance prices.
BeyondtheRack: a private shopping club for men and women who want designer brands at prices up to 70% off retail.
The Watchery: No. 278 in the Internet Top 500 offers brand name watches at substantial discounts to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
F+W Media: offers community, content, and connectivity to focused markets of highly passionate enthusiast communities.
Country Pet: a producer of all-natural pet food and treats, running on a NetSuite platform.
The Mountain Fund: dedicated to achieving the Millennium Development Goals at the grassroots level, The Mountain Fund and its global network of partners span every corner of the globe eliminating poverty in mountain regions.
CoffeeCakes.com: with an ever-expanding product line includes coffeecakes, whiskey cakes, rum cakes and travel mugs, CoffeeCakes.com distinguishes itself from other Internet retailers because of its obsession with providing superior customer service.
Accessory Geeks: delivers high quality cell phone & iPod accessories while providing information with geeky expertise.
Jamestown Distributors: an industry leader in marine and building supplies for over 30 years.
Bloomex.ca: a national Canadian Floral company.
Christian Cinema: a motion picture production and distribution company founded in 1999, born out of a desire to connect independent Christian filmmakers with consumers.
Black Helmet Apparel: founded by a fireman for firefighters, Black Helmet Apparel designs are hand drawn, and unique.
Wireless Emporium: provides consumers and on-the-go professionals a one-stop shop for cellular phone and wireless device accessories as the leader in wireless accessories.
About TurnTo
TurnTo activates word-of-mouth by enabling visitors to an ecommerce site to see when friends have experience with the site and the products it sells. For the shopper, TurnTo provides trusted sources of advice at just the moment they are most needed. For the merchant, TurnTo increases conversion rates, raises average-order-value, and makes their site a better place to shop. More information about TurnTo and its partner sites is available at www.turnto.com.