The Playaway Blog

A Week's Reflection-- "Because Downloading Audiobooks is so 1999."

So please don't think I'm really that clever to come up with the quote that's in title of this posting.  In fact, that quote was actually adapted and pulled from a recent posting about Playaway in the blogosphere-- specifically, from Gizmodo.  The posting was fairly positive overall.  There were a dozen or so comments made from Gizmodo's "pre-approved" commenters, and they too were generally positive.  Instead of just sticking to the 'good stuff' on this posting, I'd rather address some of the naysayers that commented.  After all, I hate when I can't get a word in about topics and issues that I feel strongly about.  Since this is my blog-- what better place for me to get a word in.  Okay, off we go...

Comment #5:  "I find this disgusting...If they did (a rental model) it wouldn't be so bad, but their business model means that if they are successful, they will polute the environment by design. Not to mention shipping and packaging impacts. Why would someone do this, when there are so many portable players (not to mention computers and cd players) they could mesh with."

Mike's Response:  Disgusting...poluting...huh?  Last time I checked, Playaway doesn't run on gasoline.  In fact, it runs on a single AAA battery and was built to last for years.  It's not a disposable product designed for a trashcan.  Yes, there are a ton of digital audio players, but those products just aren't for the masses quite yet.  Many people don't realize that analysts report that as few as 10% of U.S. households even own a digital audio player...not 99%.  Yes, people can listen to audio books on CD or cassette.  But the DaVinci Code on Playaway = 1 Playaway whereas the DaVinci Code CD/cassette is SIXTEEN CD's/cassettes...just for one book.  Now tell me again-- which option is more wasteful??

Comment #10:  "Nice Idea.  Bad Price."

Mike's Response:  Okay, well I feel your pain.  As a consumer of many, many things-- I always like to get my goods at a great price.  Let's be fair though.  Take a look at the 5th Horseman's unabridged Audio CD on Time Warner's website.  I'll do you a favor and look it up for you-- it's $39.98.  Now let's take a look at the price of that same title-- unabridged-- on Playaway.  See?  Yep-- it's $39.99...virtually the same price.  That all said, yes, I also think it would be cool if Playaway was a little less expensive.  I will say this...we're working on it.  We just launched in November though...give us some time!!

Comment #11:  "For that price, why not just download an audio book from iTunes or something and put it on your MP3 player? It'd be more cost-effective and you'd get to keep it permanently (or at lest as long as the MP3 format lasts, after which you can convert it to the new format)."

  Mike's Response:  Again, I hear ya on this one-- but tell this to my dad.  Or tell this to my old college professor.   Better yet, tell this to most Americans.  They will likely tell you that they don't own an iPod, and they are not going to buy one and 'learn' how to download to enjoy audio books.  Again-- for me-- I totally love my iPod nano and get how downloading is not rocket science.  But it's just not in the masses quite yet.  Maybe 10 years...but not just yet. 

Now I think that all of the people that took the time to give their feedback in the above postings all make valid points.  But to every point, there is a counter-point.  That's where I come in.

See you next week...

A Week's Reflection-- "Findaway World: Help Wanted"

Findaway World sure is a different place since when I moved in almost a year ago on May 16, 2005-- the day after my graduation from the Weatherhead School of Management.  I moved my belongings into what was then Christopher's office.  We sat just a few feet away from each other as we went along our day-to-day.  We were not the only ones "bunking up" though.  In fact, Derek and Blake shared the office next to ours-- as did Mitch and Gene across the hall.  Wendy played the role of "traffic control" in the center of all of the offices, and the seven of us got along very well in our cozy five-room office. 

Now-- things are a bit different.

   Don't get me wrong, we all still get along in our cozy office-- but it has become a cozy ten room office (including a conference room that overlooks the picturesque Chagrin Falls).  We have grown rapidly and since my very first day on the job and have added five new Findawayers, including last week's hire of what has become Findaway's first Director of Marketing.  The thing is-- we're nowhere close to being 'done' as far as our growth goes in the short-term.  I met with two potential Findawayers just last week for different roles within the company, both of whom I liked very much.   I can definitely see how a few new additions could easily be made to our team.  The only problem I can foresee?  I have no idea how we will all fit in our current office space.  Perhaps one day we can move to Downtown Cleveland so I can walk to work every day!  One can only dream...

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By the way, have you ever heard of The DaVinci Institute?  Honestly, I'm not exactly an expert on this organization.  Yet this past weekend, the Executive Director of the DaVinci Institute voiced his opinion on how Playaway could change the landscape of libraries in the future-- as was discussed in his interview with the Des Moines Register.  To summarize his thoughts...

"It's kind of an ingenious device.  It's one of those things that I think will change libraries quite a bit in the future."

-Thomas Frey
Executive Director and Senior Futurist
The DaVinci Institute