AUSTIN, TX – In the fray of hundreds of panels, swarms of entrepreneurs and generally big names of the geek kingdom, one local author has driven from DC to the heart of Texas to launch a publishing platform at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festivals.
Though he might be a SXSW virgin, Bob Fine is no stranger to the DC tech scene. Fine has been in the area for over 15 years, weathering the mid 90s .com boom to join Conservation International. This nine year post kept him in DC half the time, and abroad the rest, setting up new offices around the world on a $250 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Today, he serves as Program Director of IT at InsideNGO.
Beyond his day job, Fine has also developed a conference series and published the Big Book of Social Media this fall. “I learn best by example and what was missing was a clear set of case studies from the people who did them themselves.” The feedback, both in person and online, has been incredibly positive. “A lot of people will try to create a book and focus it as an expensive business card. But my focus on the first book was to try not to lose money on it.”
With the launch of Cool Blue Press, Fine hopes to publish more books digitally on his new platform, and physically in conjunction with the small publisher he’s partnered with in Oklahoma. “I’m just trying to provide high quality material that is useful – books that stand apart from other things on the bookshelf.”
SXSW was a deciding factor in building out the platform. “When the book came out in early November, I was working on figuring out the marketing plan. SXSW was kind of always on the calendar, and though I’d only thought about starting Cool Blue Press, it seemed like a good optimizer to invest money in a booth.”
You can find out more about Cool Blue Press and the Big Book of Social Media at booth 241 of the South by Southwest Trade Show taking place March 14- March 17.
