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Online community enables readers to have accelerated access to prepress content and interaction with authors

Near-Time and O'Reilly Media today announced the prepress launch of Software Craftsmanship on the Near-Time platform.  The site, (http://softwarecraftsmanship.oreilly.com) features the entire book contents and includes interactive components powered by Near-Time.

Software Craftsmanship: Apprentice to Journeyman is a forthcoming title from O'Reilly Media, authored by Dave Hoover and Adewale Oshineye.  The corresponding site is designed to enrich the content by encouraging reader participation through forums, commenting, and other interactive features. Reader feedback and updates to the content will drive content development before the book goes to print. 

"Needless to say, O'Reilly get's the future of publishing. It's about customer interaction, accelerating time to market and expanding the product lifecycle. It's a new game and we are excited to help define it with O'Reilly", said Reid Conrad, Near-Time CEO

Near-Time is a leading interactive publishing and collaboration platform. Near-Time combines wikis, weblogs, forums, and other advanced web technologies, along with built-in monetization options, giving publishers a wealth of options to build on-demand interactive publishing sites.  Publishers are leveraging this powerful platform to add value to their projects throughout the content lifecycle - Prepress, Frontlist and Backlist.  Near-Time's ease of adoption and community building features deliver high-margin revenue and power direct relationships with readers. 

"O'Reilly has been on the forefront of collaborative development experiments for some time," said Allen Noren, Director of Online Marketing and Digital Initiatives at O'Reilly Media. "Those have required the cobbling together of multiple tools that don't always work well together. What the Near-Time system does is integrate those tools--an authoring platform, blog, a forum, a robust permission system, as well as a for-pay and subscription gateway-in one integrated platform. I'm very interested to see how our readers respond to this."

"Near-Time helped Wrox get a previously-published 1200-page book onto their wiki based community platform extremely quickly,” said Jim Minatel, Acquisitions Director for Wiley Technology Publishing/WROX Press. “This new online format for the book gives readers a completely new ability to comment on any section of the book and makes it easy for us to keep this content up-to-date as long as it is in demand. Working with the Near-Time platform has been simple, and provided us the fastest way to meet the continued demand for Wrox content from the developer community."

The Near-Time interactive publishing platform helps publishers maximize online revenues and provide a richer experience for their readers. Near-Time provides a variety of monetization options for publishers which support the complete life cycle of content products and bring currency to content that is not possible in print or other eBook formats. With Near-Time, publishers can quickly deploy and control content online in an environment that encourages participation and engages readers in forums, commenting, ratings and other ways that bring communities together.

“Near-Time’s interactive Wiki technology transcends what has been possible with digital publishing because of its rich, collaborative features,” said Joe Wikert, Vice President and Executive Publisher, Professional/Trade Division, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. “The Near-Time platform goes a step further – offering a catalyst for true community-building. We chose Near-Time because it allows us to provide a richer experience for our readers with content that is more relevant and valuable, rejuvenate old titles, expand market reach and inject new life into backlist titles.”

”We are thrilled to partner with Wiley and Wrox in the development of interactive communities for the publishing industry. Near-Time offers a flexible, interactive publishing platform that enables publishers and content providers the ability to create new business models,” said Reid Conrad, Near-Time’s CEO. ”With participation already in over 60 countries, the Near-Time based Wrox communities are becoming a strategic, global technology resource.”

Near-Time enables publishers and content owners to make available and sell directly to consumers and gain competitive advantage. Consumers can interact with authors and other readers who share their interests. Unlike the linear experience of traditional eBooks, Near-Time enables dynamic content organization based on reader interest. Near-Time extends the life cycle of content products and helps make each phase 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 Wrox Press

Written by actual programmers, Wrox books offer the benefits of real-world experience and road-tested examples that really work. "Beginning" books provide a complete working knowledge of the subject, using hands-on lessons and proven training techniques. "Professional" and "Expert One-On-One" books are loaded with practical, focused information from leading technology experts. "Programmer's Reference" books are invaluable for their detailed, on-the-job reference support. "Problem-Design-Solution" books analyze development problems programmers encounter and supply solutions that work. Wrox books help programmers get the job-then do the job better. For more information, visit http://www.wrox.com/. Wrox is an imprint of Wiley.

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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Shore Communications' New Online Community Offers Content Industry Professionals Access to Exclusive Industry Insight

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina - September 4, 2007 -Today Near-Time announced that Shore Communications Inc., the award-winning research and consulting firm for publishing and content technology executives, has adopted the Near-Time Premium publishing platform to create ShoreViews, a new paid subscription content and collaboration service. Near-Time is a hosted collaboration and publishing platform employing wikis, weblogs, and other Web 2.0 technologies that represents a new way for the publishing industry to monetize content and community.

ShoreViews (http://shoreviews.shore.com) is a new online community enabling publishing, media and content technology professionals to share information and insights with other community members and Shore Communications’ leading analysts. Powered by Near-Time, the ShoreViews collaborative web site provides exclusive research reports, event reports, new analysis and videos to members on a registration basis and a paid-access basis. Members in the ShoreViews community can post content, comments, and participate in exclusive webcasts and teleconferences. ShoreViews premium access is available for an annual fee of $997.

“We selected Near-Time Premium because it has the critical combination of user-friendly social media features, easy configuration, turnkey eCommerce and quick integration with other content sources." remarked John Blossom, President of Shore Communications. "Near-Time makes it easy for web novices and experts alike to create, edit, and collaborate on web pages and create content that is found – not forgotten,” continued Blossom.

Shore Communications developed ShoreViews to offer premium services in a context that encourages collaboration and interaction amongst content industry executives. ShoreViews is a valuable resource for content industry executives who want to interact with leading analysts and other executives to gain insight on how to succeed in today’s rapidly changing content markets.

“Quite simply, John Blossom gets it. Leveraging Near-Time Premium, ShoreViews speaks to the transformation taking place in the publishing industry," said Reid Conrad, CEO of Near-Time. "Together, Near-Time and ShoreViews are walking-the-talk for the publishing industry," continued Conrad.

Near-Time Premium lets publishers and consultants focus on content development and leveraging their expertise to the fullest extent. Near-Time Premium includes everything necessary to create and publish content, build community, and monetize access and interaction. Built on the Near-Time platform, Premium is the only turn-key Web 2.0 solution to create, publish, and monetize content online. Site owners can create multiple custom pricing plans based on monthly, annual, or one-time fee structures and receive 80% - 90% of all membership and subscription fees. Authors, publishers, consultants, trade associations, and membership based organizations all use Near-Time Premium to publish their content, strengthen their communities, and drive high-margin revenue.

About Shore Communications Inc.

Shore Communications Inc. provides consulting and research services to guide executives marketing enterprise and media publishing and technology products and services. Leading publishing and technology content technology executives engage Shore to get highly actionable strategic insights into how to succeed in today’s business, scholarly and public content marketplaces from one of the content industry’s most recognized and respected consulting teams. Shore’s research, commentary, private consulting and confidential advisory services provide valuable insights into the products, practices and behaviors that maximize the value of content and related technologies through all stages of its creation, organization, marketing, deployment and use. Shore has been name twice by EContent Magazine as one of the 100 companies that matter most in the content industry. Shore’s ContentBlogger weblog received the 2007 CODiE award for Best Media Blog from the Software and Information Industry Association. For more information, visit http://www.shore.com.

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 40 nations by thousands of businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profit 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/.

New Customers Leverage Built-in e-Commerce Functionality to Launch Commercial Publishing and Collaborative Marketplaces 

Chapel Hill, North Carolina July 23, 2007 – Today Near-Time announced new customers of its paid membership service Near-Time Premium.  Near-Time Premium is a hosted Web 2.0 collaboration and publishing platform that enables groups and businesses of all types and sizes – including authors, publishers, consultants, trade and membership organizations—to rapidly build and create their own online commercial marketplaces without investing in hardware or software infrastructure. Premium customers come from diverse industry areas spanning financial news (http://www.mergerguru.com), business technology consulting (http://www.peoplewerx.com),  sports instruction (http://www.golfbydesign.net) and music (http://www.wholeoctave.com).

With Near-Time Premium, community builders can benefit from integrated e-commerce services that make it easy to monetize content and user interaction.   Site owners can flexibly craft pricing plans based on their preferred business models and the income they want to earn from collaborative relationships and published content.  Paid members can be charged monthly, yearly or pay a one time fee. Near-Time’s cloning capabilities enable customers to quickly create commercial communities. Each month, Near-Time Premium delivers 80% to 90% of the revenues to Near-Time Premium customers.

“Premium is creating a whole new business model for our customers,” said Near-Time CEO Reid Conrad.  “The diversity of the Premium customer base speaks to its game changing potential. Premium is developing new ways to enable businesses to derive value high margin revenues from their expertise and build vibrant, compelling and profitable marketplaces. We are well on our way of having hundreds of marketplaces up in the coming months.”

Here are some examples of the variety of storefronts Near-Time Premium has generated for online businesses:

Merger Guru:   An Online Place for the Meeting of the Minds
Mergers and acquisitions expert and independent consultant Tom Taulli, author of “The Complete M&A Handbook,” and columnist for AOL Money and Finance selected Near-Time Premium to build Merger Guru (http://www.mergerguru.com), a site dedicated to buyers and sellers of companies and professionals such as investment bankers, CPAs, attorneys, consultants and others who participate in merger and acquisition deals.  The site currently tracks and provides basic information about recent mergers and acquisitions for free, but will begin making available more detailed analyses of merger & acquisition deals on a membership basis in the near future.  

“Near-Time Premium is an excellent platform for organizing content and presenting it to the public in a way that best makes sense,” said Tom Taulli.  “Near-Time’s expertise reaches way beyond programming into true community building.  And, it’s an easy and intuitive experience for users like me.”     

PeopleWerx:  Monetizing Expertise in Technology
PeopleWerx (http://www.peoplewerx.com) is a knowledge 2.0 performance company that provides online business strategies, Web and social media tools to help individuals and businesses maximize productivity.  Mark Palmer, the CEO and Founder of the eight-year old company, plans to launch several Near-Time Premium Web sites during the next twelve months.  The first site, Teknowledgey, is slated to go live in August.

“After evaluating other products on the market, we chose Near-Time Premium because of its unique monetization capability,” said Mark Palmer.  “These sites will allow me to creatively monetize my expertise and meet my research objectives with users and the community at large.”

Jeff Ritter Golf Instruction:  Breaking Out of the Mold of Trading Time for Money
Nationally recognized golf instructor, presenter, and author of Golf by Design, Jeff Ritter is a small business owner who wanted a way to quickly and creatively reach consumers with his message and product.  Ritter’s wiki book (http://www.golfbydesign.net) leverages Premium’s content monetization component to drive revenue.  Through the site, he offers golf lessons and learning programs for golfers of all ages and levels of engagement, customized golf events, golf tips, mental training and physical conditioning information.   

“As a professional golf instructor, my challenge is to be able to generate income when I’m not on the lesson tee,” noted Jeff Ritter.  “After going through the process of trying to publish several instructional books, I found that in the age of the Internet, it can be just as powerful and lucrative to control and sell content through my Near-Time site.”

Whole Octave:  Fostering a Collaborative Community of Musicians 
When piano teacher and performer Susan Capestro created Whole Octave (http://www.wholeoctave.com) as a global community and educational site for keyboard enthusiasts of all ages, she initially thought that it would be an information-based site. Thanks to Near-Time Premium, the site has evolved into a serious, interactive teaching tool. Content includes rich media and interactive wikis.  Now many of their members are engaging students in online collaborative composition activities.  Capestro charges $30 a year – or $5 a month – for a subscription. 

“I chose Near-Time Premium because it is a hosted platform with blog and wiki interactive functionality – and, above all else, it is so simple to use,” remarked Capestro.

About Near-Time Premium
Near-Time Premium is a hosted service that enables users to create revenue opportunities with customers and business partners by quickly setting up commerical Internet marketplaces. Near-Time Premium offers an alternative to ad-supported web content by giving business professionals a way to package and sell expertise and content via paid access to online collaborative web sites. With integrated Wiki and weblog authoring tools, and file sharing and task management capabilities, groups can foster rich environments for commercial interaction.  Near-Time Premium’s patent pending ecommerce engine allows the provisioning of user subscriptions by type of content access. Subscriptions can be based on monthly, annual, or one-time fees. Advanced analytic functionality enables users to track member usage in terms of the most popular content, most frequently edited pages, and the most active readers in the space.
 
About Near-Time
Near-Time is the leader in cross organization collaboration. Near-Time integrates weblogs and Wikis to enable groups to work together more effectively in a secure, hosted platform.  Near-Time users can securely share information, files and create group calendars.  Near-Time is in use in over 40 nations by thousands of businesses, academic institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organizations, to maximize internal and external collaboration.

Near-Time Premium is Creating Online Businesses