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<p><!-- Make sure you modify the 4Cast title in this section -->
<span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;
color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;
line-height: 110%;">OPLIN 4Cast #305: Paying for
it</span><br>
<!-- Make sure you modify the date of the 4Cast in this section -->
<span style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal;
color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;
font-family: arial;">October 24th, 2012</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><img
class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3175"
title="http://mobihealthnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/VC-Stock-Image.jpg"
src="cid:part4.01080802.00030108@oplin.org"
alt="money plant" height="127" width="90">Businesses
are usually started up to satisfy a demand,
providing something people want but can't get
easily, and so they're willing to pay a commercial
provider. If the new business seems to have found
a legitimate need for its services, it can attract
venture capital. So what does it say about
libraries that there are new businesses being
funded now that provide library-type services for
a fee, services that libraries have traditionally
provided for free? Will people be willing to pay
to borrow (e)books or for answers to their
questions? Have libraries failed to give people
what they want and left an opening for commercial
providers? The answer to that last question will
depend on the success or failure of these new
business ventures.
</p>
<div> </div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/10/oyster-raises-3-million-from-founders-fund-to-finally-create-an-unlimited-subscription-service-for-books/">Oyster
raises $3M from Founders Fund to finally
create an unlimited subscription service for
books</a> (TechCrunch/Romain Dillet) "When it
comes to digital entertainment content, you can
either buy everything you want or subscribe to
an unlimited service. Yet, ebook offerings are
still behind. Oyster will fix that. [...] When
the service launches, it will go a bit further
than a simple library by trying to select great
books for its users and providing community
features to increase user retention. Instead of
focusing on the staid old publishing industry,
Oyster is trying to improve reading in general."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/e-book-subscription-service-oyster-gets-3-million-in-funding-wants-to-be-spotify-for-books/">E-book
subscription service Oyster gets $3 million in
funding, wants to be Spotify for books</a>
(Digital Book World/Jeremy Greenfield) "[CEO
Eric] Stromberg has held positions at a start-up
called Hunch that was acquired by eBay and as an
advisor at venture capital fund Founder
Collective; Andrew Brown, another of the
co-founders, has held positions at Google and
Microsoft; and the third, Willem Van Lancker,
has spent time at Google and Apple. While
industry observers have <a
href="http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/e-book-subscription-model-on-the-horizon-for-mass-market-shatzkin-says-no/">said
that it can't be done</a>, there is a very
promising model for Oyster to consider
emulating: The Kindle Owners' Lending Library."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://gigaom.com/europe/meet-the-qa-site-where-people-pay-150-for-answers/">Meet
the Q&A site where people pay $150 for
answers</a> (GigaOM/Bobbie Johnson) "And the
team plans to extend that opportunity by pushing
hard in new communities and new countries, using
the new funding to first open an office in San
Francisco, and then targeting India and China.
Put it all together, they say, and the
opportunity here could be significant. 'Around
300 million people turn to Q&A online each
month, but low quality answers are a big
problem,' says [Mancx co-founder Henrik]
Dillman. 'It's a big shift from three or four
years ago, when people expected everything
should be free.'"</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/08/pearl-com-cracks-open-25-7m-investment-oyster/">Pearl.com
cracks open $25.7M investment oyster</a>
(VentureBeat/Rebecca Grant) "Inquirers select
the type of advice they need, enter their query,
and identify the price they are willing to pay.
From there, they can have a one-on-one question
with a verified professional. Members include
doctors, lawyers, mechanics, veterinarians,
computer technicians, and electronic and home
repair gurus. These experts can help you
understand immigration laws, troubleshoot car
engine issues, and diagnose health problems."</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<p style="text-align: left; font-size: 20px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><small><strong><em>Publisher
fact:</em></strong></small><br>
</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">Oyster has
little to say about the publishers that will
supply ebooks for their service, focusing more
attention right now on how people will access
those books. Yet industry watchers <a
href="http://www.idealog.com/blog/subscription-models-seem-to-me-to-be-for-ebook-niches-not-a-general-offer/">point
out</a> that any company building a
general-interest lending library of ebooks will
have to compete with Amazon and its strong
relationship with publishers. Libraries already
are experiencing that competition.
</div>
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