Daily Thoughts 11/19/2010 (econtent)

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2010 I have been listening to the Freegal Music catalog to get a sense of how it works.  I have a trial account.  It consists of the Sony Music catalog.  Some of the artists that I have listened to are Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Bruce Springsteen.  The sound quality is very good. http://www.freegalmusic.com/users/login

I also signed up for The Copia beta to see how it works http://betaprod.thecopia.com/home/index.html  They recently decided to go device agnostic in a story in Publishers Weekly. The Copia is a social network tied in with ebooks and sharing ebooks which people buy.  In other words it is a commercial social network. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/45214-copia-s-book-retail-social-network-goes-live-devices-cancelled.html

I took some time to clean up my desk and organize my files today.

I feel like I have to consider all the different options that are out there.  There are a number of white label services that have caught my interest like Overdrive Midas and Medianet Digital.  I have also looked at Ingram EDI services which would require a committment to set up their service of at least $15,000 in annual sales.

I got some of my orders ready today.  One graphic novel that caught my attention is The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele-Blanc, Volume1, Terror Over Paris/The Eiffel Tower by Jacques Tardi.  Jacques Tardi is a French comic artist.  This story involves a pterodactyl in the Eiffel Tower.  It is set in 1910.

On the train home, I read some more of The Referral Engine. John Jantsch is describing how to combine various social media services; Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, podcasting, and other services to create a complete customer experience that will generate referrals.

Daily Thoughts 11/18/2010 The Referral Engine (Downloadable Music)

Ex libris for Louis Bosch, Tamise naar Antwerp; motto: „In tali numquam lassat venatio sylva“(„A hunt in such a forest wearies never“)


Daily Thoughts 11/17/2010

I spent some time this morning checking the displays.  I also did a little bit more weeding.

At the last collection development meeting, I was asked about electronic devices.  I called Naxos and Alexander Street Music to have them give us a trial period for their streaming services for music. I am going to be talking to http://www.freegal.com tomorrow about their download service for libraries.  I believe there may be a strong interest in downloadable or streaming music at our library.

I also called Barnes and Noble about their Nook color device.  The advantage of the Nook color is that it would be good for childrens books which are in color.

There is a separate program by Sony specific for libraries.   This is a complete package with marketing materials and training.  http://ebookstore.sony.com/library-program/

The gentleman from SCORE counselors to America's small business came today.  We set up times for December.  It is going well.  I also took some time and printed up some more flyers for SCORE and the graphic novels club for next month.

Last night, I had a colleague look over my resume.  I also took some time to update my linked in profile; both my educational information and my job description. I also went back and updated my resume with more action verbs and a greater focus on being proactive.  I also learned that the ideal number of Linked In contacts was over 200.

There is going to be a union meeting discussing the budget on November 29, 2010.  It is bringing in the Statewide Vice President, the Westchester Local President, and other officials from the union.  This adds to the apprehension about the budget which is going to be announced today for the city.

On the way home, I read some more of The Referral Engine.  It has gotten more bearable.  The author is describing a very customer centric strategy.  He is focusing on how you create a unique value proposition where your business has something to offer that other businesses do not have.  The objective is to make your company stand out so people will refer your company as their first choice to others.  It deemphasizes advertising in favor of word of mouth.

Daily Thoughts 11/17/2010 (The Referral Engine)

Harper's February 1895

Daily Thoughts 11/17/2010

I have started reading The Referral Engine Teach Your Business to Market Itself by John Jantsch.  It is a mix of sales guru type writing like you might see in Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World or The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann and social media evangelism you might see in one of Chris Brogan's or Seth Godin's books.  At points it can be a little too sticky and sweet and almost unbrearable.  At other points, it gives some decent ideas.

Today, I spent some time going over my orders and checking the purchase alerts list.  We had our order meeting today.  It went well and I put in my orders today.  I also talked a little bit about the streaming service for music from Naxos and Alexander Street.

I also spent some time checking on the displays to make sure they were in and adding a few finishing touches to the monthly report.

The book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris came in for me to read.  It should be entertaining.

I also put the book, The Wonderful Future That Never Was by Bruce Sterling on hold to read later.  I like imagining how the future could have been very different based on turning points in history.

I like the feel of new books and checking on them when they come in.  It is very different than reading about them in the review magazines.

I read some more of The Referral Engine this evening on the train.  The author is writing about the convergence between the digital and the physical world.  He is describing how it is possible to mix high technology with high quality customer service in both the online world and the physical world.  I can see how this works with companies like http://www.meetup.com and  http://www.linkedin.com where people often meet for events in person.