Social media and old fashioned love launch a new book

It was a scene that seems fitting in a town like Austin, a gathering to celebrate someone's latest creative offering. In this case we gathered, ate and drank to celebrate the release of Jill Griffin's latest book, Taming the Search-and-Switch Customer, out this month from Jossey-Bass.

Jill, resplendent in her red suit, greeted her 70 + guests with the unbridled enthusiasm befitting the nationally recognized customer loyalty guru she is. But as she shook hands and hugged well wishers, it occurred to me that this was more than just a party – it was an event that brought together the best of many worlds – old friends, local business figures and social media mavens. Among the boldfaced names: Bloggers and customer loyalty pros Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell (Jackie live tweeted from the event); Bard Press publisher Ray Bard; Jill's Jossey-Bass editor Leslie Stephen; Bob Gutermuth, founder of The Dialog Group (who also lent his lovely offices space for the bash); Bob Lander, President and CEO of the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau; well-known technology attorney Mark Murdock; Juan Portillo, President of Tramex Travel; Powered, Inc. CMO Aaron Strout, and Glenn West who heads up fundraising for the University of Texas' Department of Computer Science.

It takes a village to launch a book; and Jill's very loyal tribe turned out to kick things off the right way!

Vook. The e-book answer?

Making the leap from printed page to digital screen is still an experience in its infancy. Fueled by new apps for the iPhone and propelled by Oprah's love of the Kindle, more and more people are trading in their paper books for digital versions. But other than a lighter briefcase, the advantages are hard to see and sometimes till tough to sell. A recent New York Times story about a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and a handful of other developers has a great "value added" idea that may move the idea from the fringe to the mainstream.

The group, with Bradley Inman at the fore, is working to develop video content integrated into e-books that will make them more compelling and more competitive with other forms of online entertainment.

Sara Nelson, the former editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, comments in the piece that video would need to be skillfully woven into a story to be truly successful – and I agree. Supplemental material, like video interviews with the author, video shorts, or "extra footage" like that done for the DVD version of a major film, is probably not enough for someone to open their wallet for the reading device. But what if that material delivered something that the book couldn't? Is there some visual component to the reading experience that we've all been missing? Can a clever jacket, for instance, be only the start of a visual experience that brings something to the story that words alone can't?

I love the idea that digital books could be something completely new for readers, something beyond their favorite, well thumbed copy of a classic or a clever film adaptation. Finding the right way to do this, though, may prove to be elusive. I suspect there could be a few clumsy attempts, like the awkward moments in the movie version of a Broadway show where characters burst into song for seemingly no reason at all. Done well, however, they could prove to be undiscovered gems. I eagerly await the first test drive or road show….plus, the name the Vook? It's genius in itself, with the quirky appeal that helped launch products like the Blackberry, the iPod and Google, those that quickly enter the lexicon and stick for good.