Near-Time and The History Press Introduce True Richmond Stories, The First in a Series of Online Book Communities

Near-Time Premium Offers Publishers an Innovative Way of Monetizing Content,

Extending the Life Cycle of Books Using Wikis and Web 2.0 Technologies 

Chapel Hill, NC - September 10, 2007 * Today Near-Time and The History Press announced a new online book community (www.truerichmondstories.com) powered by Near-Time Premium.  The news precedes the availability of True Richmond Stories, a book by Harry Kollatz Jr., scheduled to launch next month. This release will include the entire contents of the book, additional stories, movies, audio interviews from the author and more. It represents the first in a series of online releases for The History Press to monetize content and communities in innovative ways and extend the life cycle of their authors’ books.

"We chose Near-Time because it is the fastest way to create an effective online presence for our books, our authors and our readers," said Brittain Phillips, Sales and Marketing Coordinator for The History Press. "Near-Time Premium enables us to provide a much better experience for our customers over print alone and to increase profits for us and our authors."

""The History Press understands that the convergence of print and digital markets offers publishers great leverage," said Reid Conrad, Near-Time’s CEO. "The Near-Time wiki represents a platform for publishers to provide more dynamic organization and interaction with their respective markets. Near-Time Premium provides publishers a faster way to increase profitability when compared with advertising-only services."

Near-Time Premium helps publishers and content owners sell directly to consumers and gain competitive advantage. Advanced roles and permissions let publishers and authors retain control over content and community. Consumers interact with authors and other readers who share their interests. Unlike the linear experience of traditional books, Near-Time Premium enables dynamic content organization based on reader interest.  

Near-Time Premium extends the life cycle of a book and helps make each project more profitable. During pre-press, content gets to market faster and enables a community of interest around a topic, giving technology and STM publishers a distinct first-to-market advantage. When a title reaches backlist, online distribution allows publishers to capitalize on the long tail of the topic.

Built on the Near-Time platform, Premium is the only turnkey Web 2.0 solution that makes it possible to create, publish and monetize content online. The platform includes everything necessary to create and publish content, build community and monetize access and interaction. Site owners can create multiple custom pricing plans based on monthly, annual or one-time fee structures and receive 80-90 percent of all membership and subscription fees. 

About Near-Time

Near-Time is the leading Web 2.0 platform for cross organization collaboration. Business professionals can quickly create rich interaction with their prospects, customers, partners and suppliers. Near-Time integrates wikis and weblogs to enable groups to work together more effectively in a secure, hosted environment. Near-Time users can securely share information, files and create group calendars. Near-Time is in use in over forty nations by thousands of businesses, academic institutions, government agencies and nonprofit organizations, to maximize internal and external collaboration. Near-Time Premium leverages the Near-Time platform to enable organizations to monetize their communities and content. For more information, go to http://www.near-time.com/. 

About The History Press 

The History Press, based in Charleston, South Carolina, and Salem, Massachusetts, brings a new way of thinking to history publishing: producing regional history titles by excellent historians and striving to make these books available to a wide audience. By publishing high-quality history and heritage titles with a strong regional base, The History Press plays a part in the revival of interest in local and regional history that is underway.  For more information, to to http://www.historypress.net 

About the Author-Harry Kollatz Jr. 

Since 1993, Harry Kollatz Jr. has recorded the lesser-known heritage of Virginia’s Holy City for his "Flashback" column in Richmond Magazine. From the inauguration of the world’s first practical electric trolley system and early civil rights activists, to a psychic horse and a wild ride on a sturgeon, he’s covered it all. Compiled for the first time in this volume, True Richmond Stories is a selection of articles sure to delight all who love Richmond by shedding light on some of the city’s historical nooks and crannies.

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