launches – Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report

27 Jan 2010 6 am eastern

Hear This!

Dan Benjamin, creator of wonderful websites, apps, broadcasts, and platforms and longtime friend of A List Apart and your host, introduces a new venture.

5 by 5 Studios is a new internet broadcasting network, home to shows like EE Podcast, Tack Sharp, The Dev Show, The Ruby Show, and Utility Belt, releasing new episodes every week.

As part of the launch, 5 by 5 announces two new shows hosted by Dan:

The Pipeline, an interview show talking with designers, developers, writers, and entrepreneurs, brought to you by Campaign Monitor. Upcoming guests include Kottke, Storey,Vaynerchuk, Coudal, Mann, and Siracusa.
The Conversation, brought to you by Shopify, is a live-streamed talk show featuring topical discussions, reviews, special guests, news with Christina Warren from Mashable, and your calls, all live.

NOTE: I’m pleased as punch to be the first Pipeline guest. Come hear us on Friday, January 29th, 2010.

Filed under: Authoring, Community, Design, Ideas, Publishing, content, industry, launches, links, podcasts

3 Aug 2009 6 am eastern

The Amanda Project

Designed by Happy Cog and launched today, The Amanda Project is a social media network, creative writing project, interactive game, and book series combined:

The Amanda Project is the story of Amanda Valentino, told through an interactive website and book series for readers aged 13 & up. On the website, readers are invited to become a part of the story as they help the main characters search for Amanda.

The writing-focused social media network is designed and written as if by characters from the Amanda novels, and encourages readers to enter the novel’s world by joining the search for Amanda, following clues and reading passages that exist only online, and ultimately helping to shape the course of the Amanda narrative across eight novels. (The first Amanda novel—Invisible I, written by Melissa Kantor—comes out 22 September.)

The site developed over a year of intense creative collaboration between Happy Cog and Fourth Story Media, a book publisher and new media company spearheaded by publishing whiz Lisa Holton. Prior to starting Fourth Story, Lisa was was President, Scholastic Trade Publishing and Book Fairs; managed the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; and oversaw development of The 39 Clues. Before that she spent nearly a decade developing numerous bestselling, franchise-launching series at Disney.

Happy Cog’s New York office developed this project. The team:

Aaron Gustafson, front-end development (blog, articles, Twitter)
Liz, Danzico, user experience (blog, MFA program, Twitter)
Matthew Goldenberg, project management
Whitney Hess, user experience (blog, Twitter)
Erin Kissane, content strategy (articles, blog, Twitter)
Kelly McCarthy, project manager
Jason Santa Maria, design (website, Twitter)
Jeffrey Zeldman, creative director

Equally vital to the project’s success were Fourth Story’s leaders and partners, including:

Lorraine Shanley, Principal Advisor
Ariel Aberg-Riger (website, Twitter), Creative Development & Marketing Manager
JillEllyn Riley, Editorial Director
Dale Robbins, Creative Director
David Stack, Director, Digital Partnerships
Melissa Kantor, Writer
Peter Silsbee, Writer
Polly Kanevsky, Art Director
Sam Gerstenzang, Technology Consultant

Today’s launch is not the end of our relationship with Fourth Story Media. The Amanda Project will continue to evolve, and Happy Cog will remain an active partner in its direction and growth. We thank our brilliant collaborators and congratulate them on today’s milestone.