Blurb: wouldn’t you want to see your name on a book cover?

Robin Goldberg from Blurb

Yesterday Boris and me visited a pre-Web 2.0 Expo meet-up, organized by Flickr and blurb. We were welcomed by Robin Goldberg, she is the SVP Marketing and Business Development of blurb. After a drink, she pitched the service, and we were pretty impressed – despite the hideous name of the service.

The San Francisco-based company celebrates the good ol’ books by allowing anyone customizable photo-orientated books. It launched in October 2007 and differ from competitors like Lulu with the ultra-slick look of the books. Goldberg: “Whenever I tell people about our product, they react positive. Yet when I show them the books they get really enthusiastic”. I can see why, since the books I saw yesterday reminded me of the photo books I’d seen earlier at bookstore Borders. They’re also equally expensive with prices ranging from 12,95 to 159,95 dollar. By downloading their software program, making a book becomes pretty easy.

A Blurb book

Cool features are importing your Flickr pics and blog posts. You can either print a book to caress your beloved Flickr pics or sell your work for profit in the online bookstore of Blurb.

Blurb has just opened a European office – with a printer – in Amsterdam. So the service becomes more accessible for us Europeans.

I like this service as it gives you an opportunity to turn your online content into a touchable project. Some photographers are working daily on a beautiful collection of photos on Flickr, yet what will be left of that in 30 years? When creating a book, these photographers can show their work to their grandparents as well as their (future) children and at the same time own a gorgeous product.

I’m thinking of creating a book yearly, to capture the highlights and remember them in a rather fashionable way.