Alchemy's stint at the recent Cape Town Book Fair was fantastically successful. We learned an enormous amount about what perceived needs are in terms of electronic publishing. The main kinds of interest we got, in no particular order, were:
- publishers wanting to offer interactive materials to supplement their text books, particularly in the maths and science areas
- teachers and Department of Education officials interested in electronic whiteboard content
- authors who are planning to publish content themselves and see the electronic medium as one of their better options
- people interested in the fact that electronic content can be encrypted or copy-protected, and that alternative payment models, for example subscription-based or pay-per-use models are possible
- parents looking for interactive educational activities for their children to use at home
- learner drivers fascinated by our Learn2Drive3D product and keen to get hold of it as soon as we release
- fellow software developers bowled over by our technical and design skills and the exciting projects we're working on, and interested in joining our team
We've come away from the Book Fair with our minds teeming with ideas. After a well deserved break we'll get started - watch the site for details of our new offerings. In particular we've seen that people need more information on what can be done with electronic publishing, and on technologies like electronic whiteboards, so we'll be adding an information section to our site.
Thanks and congratulations are due to the organisers of the Fair for a tremendous experience. To all the people we met, thanks for your enthusiasm. You've inspired us to reach even higher than before!