How LuLu leverages its API to tranform the book publishing industry

Lulu was started with the goal of utilizing the internet to shorten the distance between content creators and buyers. After eight years of research and development the lulu platform was launched.  It eliminates three steps of the traditional publishing model and connects creators directly to buyers through the lulu API platform.

Customers can manage a publishing business end-to-end.

Eight years may seem like a lot of time but lulu has really done a great job of automating the tasks of agents, publishers and retailers.  Lulu had to create a way to import files of all different formats and develop a way to integrate them, build up a way to store all of the information, generate books,  print books and distribute them.

Lulu is a free and open platform.  Typically API's only expose a company's data to manipulation.  This method makes sense if the value of your business is in your data.  The Lulu API provides entire access to lulu technology because the real value lulu brings is the process they have created.  It empowers next-gen publishing models by lowering barriers to entry "bringing your great idea to your neighbors doorstep".

lulu.com

There are often risks when relying on an API.  A recent example is when Google Translate closed its translation API, requiring many websites and App developers to find new ways to translate data or face extinction.  If a business considers access to another companies API a strategic asett then that business is setting itself up for possible failure at anytime should the API become restricted.  In my view Lulu possesses less a risk than the traditional API for the end user.  Lulu provides a process to transform data, not data for the user to transform.  A lulu user can find a new process to publish their books should lulu ever cease to exist.  A lulu users strategic asset is the content they create.   There is seemingly no risk of lulu ever closing its API because the business is built around it.

Inversely, imagine lulu was a platform that only made the text of books available and you built a business process to use the text to generate ebooks.  If lulu closed in that case the business would be in a stretch because lulu's data was strategic asset to the business.

Before I grew up! is a website that takes advantage of the lulu platform.  It was built by someone to help his family create a book with with pictures and stories.  Each baby book has an associated email address and family members can email pictures and stories. Lulu then generate a book from all of the information and makes a hard copy or ebook available.  Interestingly enough, an elementary school has since gone on to use his application on the lulu platform to create their yearbook.

beforeigrewup.com  

Lulu is a business totally about the API, leaving development of the platform up to the users.

"The Future Internet"

The May 2011 Future Internet Report is from the UK Future Internet Strategy Group.  If you try to visit the website it may not load because ironically enough, it is currently inaccessible.  The report outlines a 20 year strategy for the UK to attract technology businesses to the UK.

To summarize the report talks about the direction communication is heading.  It introduces the concept of "The Internet of People and Things".   It allows for the connection of previously unconnected services and businesses to allow businesses to put together right combination of services together for a customer.  These services will also be able to be customized to an "incredible degree".

It then discusses elements needed to support the "new internet".  One of the first hurdles is the physical number of connected devices.  The current IPv4 standard provides a limited number of IP addresses.  The shift to IPv6 will provide a seemingly infinite amount of addresses to support the massive growth in connected devices.  It goes on to say that the cloud will enable a new style of converged services.  The cloud will allow user and business data to be available anywhere at anytime.  With the cloud users will have the capability to be in control of their data at any time (for example giving and withdrawing consent).

Cloud services could be "aggregated together in any number of ways by a ‘broker’, to provide the end user with contextually aware applications and decision support services".

I agree with the reports prediction and recommendation of converged services.  With more an more enabled devices and services it has become increasingly hard for me to maintain my many separate online identities.  One online service may have one feature I need but not another.  I could very easily have 100 online accounts to accomplish a myriad of tasks.

2011 UK Future Internet Report

The shift to converged services will provide more choices in service provision allowing a more cost efficient integration of services and produce highly capable and competitive businesses.  The cost efficient and connected services will in turn allow for increased profits and lower end-user costs.  

Our class is even related to converged services.  Later this semester we will be using a software API called PhoneGap.  It acts as a broker to create multiple versions of native applications based on one source of data.

My Experience with Google Sites

Sites is a SaaS (software as a service) offering from the big G.  SaaS, often referred to as "on-demand software" is where software is hosted centrally, usually in the cloud.

To be an entirely web based website building platform, Google Sites his a homerun.  It allows anyone with a google account to create a website in a matter of minutes. Many functions like keeping a consistent navigation that plagued early HTML sites and still present problems to basic designers are all taken care of automatically by Sites.  I would recommend it to someone that does not have the time or budget to learn to use a program like Dreamweaver but still wants the WYSIWYG feel.  It also has a plugin type feature called Gadgets that allows you to easily add an assortment of functions to the site like importing an rss feed or displaying a google calendar.

A disadvantage of using google site is that you have to have an internet connection in order to work on the site.  Another let down is that many of the settings take multiple steps to get to.  There is no overarching structure that allows you to access all elements of google sites.

SaaS systems like google sites are related to SOA (service-oriented architecture) because it part of a larger integration system.  Google provides a loose coupling of services including Gmail, Docs, Sites, Blogger, Calendar etc.  Each system is distinct in its operation but they are all able to communicated with each other.  Sharing the same authentication system and able to pass information between each other.  For example, google sites can pull information from each of the other google services and gmail can automatically add appointments to your calendar based on information in an email.