50+ thinkers and planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring projects on corporate citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling on the MSLGROUP Insights Network. Every week, we pick up one project and do a deep dive into conversations around it -- on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web -- to distill insights and foresights. We share these insights and foresights with you on our People’s Insights blog and compile the best insights from the network and the blog in the iPad-friendly People’s Lab Quarterly Magazine, as a showcase of our capabilities. This week, our topic is byliner.com. For more, see:http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com.

1. crowdsourcing | storytelling | citizenship
People’s Insights: Volume 1, Issue 5
Byliner

2. What is Byliner.com?
It's a discovery engine that collates web content to help you find good
stories to read, share and discuss. It also enables you to connect with
your favourite writers, ensuring you never miss a good read.
Source : http://byliner.com , http://mashable.com/2011/06/21/byliner-stories/

3. Long-form bliss
Byliner.com publishes non-fiction narratives by established writers, covering a
variety of topics such as business, sport, culture and politics. These 10,000- to
35,000-word articles are released as 'Byliner originals' and are meant to be read
in a single sitting.
Source : http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/06/a-fan-club-for-writers-byliner-launches/ ,
http://marthaengber.blogspot.in/2011/10/byliner-originals-new-e-short.html

4. So far, so good
Byliner's first e-book – 'Three Cups of Deceit' – had 70,000 downloads within 72
hours of release. More than 40,000 stories have been published by 4,000
authors so far, selling over different 100,000 Byliner Originals in its first six
months.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/28/BUIO1J9820.DTL&type=tech ,
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-byliner-has-sold-over-original-100000-e-singles/

5. Beneath the surface – The Pandora of long
form journalism
The real innovation is the metadata attached to each article that powers
Byliner’s recommendations to readers. Byliner suggests new authors
and articles to readers based on what they read and share.
Source : http://www.wgntv.com/news/eveningnews/webwatchers/wgntv-bylinercom-aims-to-
be-the-pandora-of-long-form-jounalism-20110621,0,4950073.story, http://www.facebook.com

6. Emerging writers get a hand
Byliner.com works because readers can view stories written by their
favourite writers, and also because it acts as the perfect platform to
discover talented new writers and help them make it big.
Source : http://www.twitter.com , http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/06/a-fan-club-for-writers-
byliner-launches/

7. The competition
Byliner provides long-form content curation like Longreads and
Longform do, but also publishes original non-fiction articles like Atavist,
creating a niche in long-form journalism.
Source : http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/19/byliner-launches-with-a-splash-aims-to-disrupt-
long-form-journalism/

8. Byliner Originals' biggest competition
As articles/books can now be completed in two hours, Originals will vie
for people's attention with other activities that can be completed in a few
hours, such as films, TV, sports, etc.
Source: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com , http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/19/byliner-launches-
with-a-splash-aims-to-disrupt-long-form-journalism/#comment-box

9. Rise of the e-reader market leading to more
long-form content
Amazon pioneered this with the launch of Kindle. It created a pool of
buyers comfortable with consuming content digitally and made
publishing effortless.
Source : http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/books/the-rise-of-the-e-reader

10. A business model for long-form content
Digital publishers such as Byliner benefited from Kindle's creation of
Singles, which are like books but meant to be read in a two-hour sitting,
delivered quickly, without publisher house lags.
Source : http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/singles-kindles-240935

11. Alternative revenue streams for journalists
Journalists are beginning to release works through Byliner and Atavist,
which split the revenue 50:50 with writers. Authors release books faster
this way, making the process more exciting and lucrative.
Source : http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/books/la-ca-david-ulin-
20110515,0,3634450.story http://www.marcgunther.com/2011/04/20/journalism-the-internet-
giveth-the-internet-taketh-away/

12. More People’s Insights Weekly reports
Every week, we dive into one topic for discussion on the MSLGROUP
Insight’s Network and discuss insights and foresights, in three key
areas: crowdsourcing, storytelling and citizenship.
Crowdsourcing Storytelling: Citizenship
Mahindra Spark the Rise @MarsCuriosity #Kony2012
For more reports, visit: peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/

13. Read People’s Lab insights and foresights
The People’s Lab team shares the insights and foresights from the
MSLGROUP Insights Network on the People’s Insights weekly blog and
the People’s Insights Quarterly magazine.
MSLGROUP Insights People’s Insights People’s Insights
Network weekly blog Quarterly magazine
50+ MSLGROUP planners We deep dive into Every quarter, we will compile
share and discuss inspiring conversations around one the best insights from the
projects on corporate project -- on the MSLGROUP network and the blog in the
citizenship, crowdsourcing and Insights Network itself but also iPad-friendly magazine, as a
storytelling. on the broader social web -- to showcase of our capabilities.
distill insights and foresights.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

14. Coming soon: People’s Insights Annual
Report
In early January 2013 we will publish the People’s Insights Annual
Report, in which we synthesize our insights from throughout 2012 and
provide foresights for business leaders and change-makers for 2013.

15. People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Insights &
Innovation
People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and
approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insight for
innovation, storytelling and change.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

16. For People’s Lab
solutions, contact
pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com