new member

July 29, 2013 By breisman

Credo works to ease the process of content configuration, and in the process, enables distribution of knowledge and information across intuitive and manageable platforms. Learn more about the innovation happening at Credo as well as the future of their business and the industry in this exclusive interview with Mike Sweet, CEO of Credo.

Kathy: Tell me about Credo.

Mike: Credo is an information skills solutions provider that serves educational institutions worldwide. We build platforms that enable the flexible configuration of content, technology and services for the purpose of connecting learners, faculty and teachers, librarians and publishers. We aim to help people develop the information skills that are necessary for success throughout their academic, professional and personal lives.

Kathy: What types of companies, if any, does Credo look to partner with?

Mike: The guiding principle of Credo’s product strategy is simple—partner with industry leaders to do what the industry cannot do for itself by providing a platform to promote knowledge building, problem solving and critical thinking skills. In addition to partnering with libraries, consortia and publishers we continually look to join forces with technology companies, discovery service providers, content aggregators and other stakeholders in the educational technology industry to enhance our Literati solution.

Mike Sweet, CEO, Credo Reference

Kathy: Who does Credo sell to?

Mike: For our first dozen years, Credo mainly served college and university students and public libraries. We’ve recently taken what we’ve learned from that experience and expanded our focus to include secondary school students and student athletes as well. What that means is that a wide range of individuals, including librarians, academic advisors and other educators, subscribe to our solutions. What they all have in common is their focus on giving end users the information skills necessary for lifelong success.

Kathy: What is unique about what Credo does?

Mike: We’re unique in that there are quite a few companies that aggregate ebooks or develop platforms to enhance learning or research experiences, but we do it all with an added service layer. Our on-staff team of librarians and educators bring experience and knowledge that help our subscribers extend their limited resources to meet ambitious strategic goals.

As an example, we recently worked with Columbia University to create instructional videos and tutorials that will help integrate research skill instruction throughout the curricula. While they were inspired to emphasize their value to the university as a whole, they were limited by the amount of time that they had to dedicate to this work and the technology to which they had access for creation of the materials. Working with Credo, they were able to do more with what they have.

The skills learned in traditional and nontraditional educational environments are what prepare individuals for workforce and personal success and therefore ensure collective economic and civic success as well. We’re helping for the sake of the education industry, but we’re helping for the sake of our society as well.

Kathy Greenler Sexton, VP & GM, SIIA Content Division

Kathy: What do you think will be the biggest trends in the industry in the next 12-18 months?

Mike: From an educational perspective, I see the industry moving towards greater acceptance of a tumultuous, ever-changing environment and emphasis on strategic partnerships as integral to success in this environment. Librarians in particular are in the eye of this storm, and I think they’ll increasingly find this to be an advantageous position that leads to greater participation in their institutions’ strategic work and a greater emphasis on their value and overall contribution to society as well.

Kathy: Is there any recent news that you’d like to announce?

Mike: We’re always innovating and improving at Credo! As I mentioned in my recent interview with Information Today, in the first few months of this year we’ve already won a CODiE award, acquired OnlineTutorSolutions.com and partnered with industry leaders to enhance our Literati platforms. We continued this momentum during the second quarter of the year, adding new publishers to our growing list of partners and integrating third party technology, an example being Reference Service Press’ FundingFinder Express, to add value to our Literati platforms.

We’re not slowing up just yet, though, and have big plans for the rest of 2013 as well. Stay tuned!

Kathy: What is the best way to get in contact with Credo?

Mike: Email learnmore@credoreference.com or tweet us @credoreference. I’m also always happy to talk ed tech, conscious business and all things educational technology and can be tweeted @_mike_sweet.

Twitter Handle: @credoreference

Company URL: http://corp.credoreference.com

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Meet New SIIA Member: qbeats Inc.

July 23, 2013 By breisman

It is our great pleasure to introduce qbeats as a new member of the SIIA. qbeats is a unique information company that combines principles of demand with an accessible and user-friendly platform. Believing it has created the first real “marketplace” for news, qbeats links information consumers to appropriate information providers. Learn more about qbeats and their thoughts on the future of information industry in this exclusive interview with Greg Joslyn.

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Kathy: Tell me about qbeats. What do you do?

Kathy Greenler Sexton, VP & GM, SIIA Content Division

Greg: qbeats is an internet platform that connects news buyers directly with publishers. The heart of qbeats is a patent-pending algorithm to determine the price at which content is sold at any moment in time. The platform also facilitates subscriptions for users who find themselves drawn repeatedly to a particular publisher’s offerings.

Kathy: What is unique about your platform?

Greg: We’ve created what we believe is the first true marketplace for news. We are sometimes compared with iTunes, but with an important distinction: While a song will have the same static value two hours or two months from now, the value of news is very dynamic. Think about a big scoop – say, a biotech company has hired an M&A advisor. A hedge fund trader with a large position in the stock will want that breaking story the microsecond it comes out and he will pay a premium for it. The CFO of the biotech’s main competitor, on the other hand, is also going to be interested, but she can wait a few minutes till the price goes down. Meanwhile, a year from now, an equity analyst compiling research on biotech M&A might be happy to purchase the same story from the archive at a fraction of the original price. Current publishing models, whether one-size-fits-all subscriptions or metered paywalls, don’t do a very good job differentiating between these three use cases and efficiently monetizing the demand curve. The qbeats demand-based dynamic pricing engine does.

Kathy: What types of companies does qbeats look to partner with?

Greg: On the content side, we are looking to team up with publishers of proprietary information who want to grow their audience and add incremental revenue. We are starting with publishers who have or are seeking an audience with the financial community.

Kathy:Who does qbeats sell to?

Greg: For now, the emphasis is on a professional financial services audience, especially in the commodities and foreign exchange verticals. But that will broaden quickly. We think qbeats ultimately will have just as much appeal on Main Street as it does on Wall Street.

Kathy: What do you see as the biggest trends in the industry in the next 12-18 months?

Greg: Publishers seem to be asking, “What’s next?” They’ve invested a lot of time and effort in crafting paywalls and some are starting to see a return on that investment. But, while paywalls may be necessary to retain wallet-share from legacy readers who have transitioned to digital, publishers are realizing that they’re probably not sufficient to attract brand new customers and thereby drive significant revenue growth. That’s where we think the qbeats platform can really help.

Kathy: Is there any recent news that you’d like to announce?

Greg: We started our “by invitation only” soft launch in the first week of June and will be making refinements this summer based on intensive feedback from that exercise, before ramping up with more users in the fall.

Kathy: What is the best way to contact qbeats?

Greg: Rich Sabreen (rich.sabreen@qbeats.com) and Greg Joslyn (greg.joslyn@qbeats.com) are the point people for prospective publishing partners.

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Meet New SIIA Member Credo

Meet New SIIA Member: qbeats Inc.

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