Transcript for the 3/31/13 #storyappchat: Ron Martinez

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Illuminating chat last night, not just about the capabilities of Aerbook, but also about the current state of children’s app/ebook publishing in general, and where we might be headed. Huge thanks to @RonMartinez [Aerbook's founder] for helming our discussion–I think Aerbook is definitely a platform to keep an eye on over the next several months.

Remember, we hold our little roundtable every Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific, so clear some space in your calendar for the next chat, OK?

Guest Host for the 3/31/13 #storyappchat: Ron Martinez

The tools available to writers/illustrators of interactive books continue to evolve. One of the most exciting new packages to come out recently is Aerbook Cloud Publishing, a browser-based platform which allows you to export content in a number of different formats, including iBooks, Kindle, and iOS/Nook/Fire app projects.

The founder of Aerbook is Ron Martinez, and we’re thrilled to have him host this Sunday’s #storyappchat. Among other things, he’ll answer our questions about the migration of app-like experiences to the eBook store, the differences in discovery and pricing, and what the limitations and opportunities are across the various platforms. And if the topic isn’t enough to interest you, Ron will be giving away some export credits for those who are able to pop into the chat.

Don’t miss this one! We’ll kick things off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific this Sunday, March 31. Looking forward to seeing YOU there!

Transcript for the 3/24/13 #storyappchat: Roxie Munro

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Roxie Munro guest hosted a dynamite chat last night! We had lots of great questions, and were treated to a healthy dose of Roxie’s wit and wisdom. If you were able to stop by, you know what I’m talking about–and if you weren’t, it’s all there in the transcript above.

Don’t forget, we get together every Sunday evening at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Make plans to join us for the next one (3/31/13), when we’ll welcome Ron Martinez from Aerbook!

Topic for the 3/10/13 #storyappchat: #ECETechChat Link-Up!

Imagine you’ve been working on a jigsaw puzzle for weeks, but one of the key pieces is missing. You’ve spent several days looking for the piece, but it seems to be gone. Now… imagine the piece just turned up, you click it into place and voila! The picture is now complete.

What I’m getting at is this: we will be joined this Sunday by the #ECETechChat folks, a dynamic group of people dedicated to using technology responsibly, creatively and innovatively (is that a word?) in the early childhood classroom. That’s right: these are movers and shakers who love technology and are looking for ways to use the content we’re creating in their own programs. This is a no-brainer, right? Now, do you see the puzzle pieces coming together (and: are you as excited as I am)?

Led by Karen Nemeth as the official guest host but joined by several others, this will be a chat you won’t want to miss. We’ll kick things off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific, and we’ll look for YOU to join the fun!

Topic for the 2/17/13 #storyappchat: Music

Back in the olden days of, say, about five years ago, the idea of music in a book mainly consisted of board books with oversized sound chip buttons for toddlers, interactive stories on CD-ROM and proprietary systems like LeapPad products. But things have changed, haven’t they? Nowadays storybook apps and even ebooks can be greatly enhanced with the right soundtrack.

A good example of this is the brand-new storybook People Are Like Lollipops by Annie Fox. The music chosen for the read-aloud iBook version is both appropriate (Far East music to go with the wise shaman in the story) and unobtrusive, so it doesn’t detract from the book’s message. Nicely done!

How did you choose music for your electronic story? If you decided to leave it out, why? Let’s talk about the use of music in interactive storybook apps and ebooks during the next #storyappchat on Sunday, February 17 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific. Bring along your favorite resources for royalty-free tracks, high-quality composers for custom work, and everything in between!

Transcript for the 1/27/13 #storyappchat: the iBookstore

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Judging by the high-quality chatter we enjoyed last night, many of us see the iBookstore as a viable option for producing interactive books for kids. Be sure to study the transcript above for links and other valuable industry information from @LizCastro, @RonMartinez, @DrawBeard and @TheiPodTeacher. A lot of people who joined us last night had nice things to say about Book Creator, a WYSIWYG (graphically-based) ePub editor which makes it easy to create files for the iBookstore.

Remember, we convene every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific to talk about creating storybook apps and ebooks for kids. Join us next and every week, OK?

Topic for the 1/27/13 #storyappchat: the iBookstore

While it’s true we’ve done chats before on the topic of the iBookstore, we thought it made sense to revisit it, given the rise of one-stop DIY tools like Book Creator and excellent technical resources like the tutorials and how-to books from Liz Castro. With a little bit of help and an entrepreneurial spirit, anyone can create robust and very app-like titles for Apple’s iBookstore.

Of course, others are using Apple’s free iBooks Author tool to create content, and that’s pretty exciting too.

So: let’s talk about it this Sunday (January 27) at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific. Just start using the #storyappchat hashtag on Twitter about that time, and we will look for you then!

Transcript for the 12/9/12 #storyappchat: Will Terry

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So glad to welcome Will Terry back to #storyappchat, and based on both the stuff he’s posted to his blog and the amount of high-energy discussion last night, he’s had his hands in a bunch of very cool stuff lately.

Catch it all in the transcript above, and remember: we do it every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific. Make it a weekly ritual, how about it?

 

Topic for the 9/2/12 #storyappchat: The Networking Chat

OK, app community, it’s time to get acquainted! If you are doing work in the children’s app space and want to do more of this sort of stuff in the future, Sunday’s chat is for you. This means if you are:

• a writer or editor
• an illustrator or production artist
• a programmer
• an app publisher
• creator of a DIY app-making tool
• a writer or reviewer for an app review site
• a journalist or technology columnist
• someone who specializes in app marketing
• or anyone else connected with the world of ebooks/apps for kids

…then this chat will be a great way for you to meet others who may be interested in collaborating with you on their next project! Have links of your recent stuff and war stories ready to share, and COME ONE, COME ALL! We will kick it off at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/ 6:00 p.m. Pacific Sunday evening, September 2.

Transcript for the 8.19.12 #storyappchat: Alex from @Kwiksher

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Alex Souza from @Kwiksher served as the guest host for this one, and he brought a crowd with him! Several current users of Kwik popped in to share experiences, ask questions and otherwise spice up an excellent chat.

According to Alex, the release date for Kwik 2.0 is officially September 18, so get ready! For those of you new to Kwik, this is a fancy Photoshop plug-in that works with Corona and allows the do-it-yourselfers to create storybook apps without the need to learn (much) code. Several nice apps have been built with it, including Sparky the Shark and Floating Fun, which is the first app built with a beta version of Kwik 2.0.

Remember, we do this chat thing every Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/6:00 p.m. Pacific time, so make some room in your weekly planner for a little story app talk!