O'Reilly Media's SafariU: The Future is Here

Any sci-fi fan knows Neuromancer, its author William Gibson, and what's probably his most famous quote:

"The future is here, it's just not very evenly distributed."

That's how I feel when I look at O'Reilly Media's new SafariU application, an XML- and MarkLogic-based custom publishing system that allows college professors to build custom textbooks for their classes.

The folks at the Gilbane Report recently published a case study on SafariU. I recommend reading it for two reasons: the application is fascinating and the case itself is well written.

In addition, there is a webinar on Wednesday 2/15/06 at 11AM PST where O'Reilly CIO CJ Rayhill will present with Leonor Ciarlone from Gilbane. I've seen CJ speak before -- she is a fantastic speaker -- so I strongly recommend the webinar. (CJ has also written an article on SafariU, which is available here.)

Here's what I like about SafariU

• It attacks real problems (the spiraling costs of texbooks, the increasing inapplicability of textbooks to courses as teaching becomes chapter-based)

• It leverages technology to do something new and useful. E-books are paved cow-paths. SafariU isn't about delivering old books through new channels. It's about building the book you want for the purpose you need; remixing existing work, adding new work, and sharing objects with others.
  

• It delivers fully on the new information industry mantra: "it's about the content, not the container." For decades, publishers made money selling books or magazines. It's not easy to disaggregate your products into chapters and articles and try to figure out how to sell them instead. In music, how many songs were sold bundled on CDs with a top hit? Lots. Just as it's not easy to stop selling CDs and start selling songs, it's not easy to stop selling books and magazines and start selling chapters and articles. While the logic from a consumer viewpoint is clear, few organizations are bold enough to lead such change.

(In SafariU's case, it's even bolder -- the unit they actually sell is the page, not the chapter or the article. SafariU books cost $0.16/page, so a 200-page book would cost $32.00 before bookstore markup.)

If this sounds as cool to you as it does to me, then here's how to learn more. The six-page SafariU brochure is here. And this five-minute SafariU flash tour is comprehensive and well worth the time.

And don't forget the webinar!