Did Apple take a bite off 2tion?

This has happened to each one of us. A great brainwave strikes, we put it down on paper, spread the word around and then sleep on it. But then we never get up from the slumber until someone else turns that dream into reality. All one can do now is sulk or maybe take solace in the fact that the idea had substance after all.2tion.com, now a part of Edserv.in, once envisioned the idea of online tuitions. The idea wasn’t exactly ahead of its times but after some initial hoopla, the project did not live up to the full potential due to various reasons. Edserv founder SujaiPillai, brings to our notice the similarity of 2tion to iBooks Author from Apple. Apple launched this e-book authoring software on the 19^th of January, 2012.

2tion’s plan (November 2008)

2tion proposed an online tuition and Ebook management system wherein tutors can publish the ebook and students can directly purchase it. “In this way, students can even have a direct interaction with the author of the book. It would also introduce a very high efficiency in the education system with reduced costs”, says Sujai.

iBooks Author (January 2012)

Apple describes the software as a tool for educators and smaller publishers to create their own books. Apple launched this at an educational event and hopes to turn authors into educators. The proprietary software is available only for Mac OS X and is available free at Mac App Store.

Corroboration for 2tion's Idea

Many of the ideas remain figments of imagination but with 2tion, the idea took flight but just couldn’t find the top gear. The project was submitted to LIBA-TiE Business competition in 2008. The project won many accolades and was mentioned in a report by the Hindu as well.

Davison, an America based company which incubates ideas also gave positive feedback to 2tion and was willing to take the project forward but financial problems didn’t allow this partnership to manifest.

The Learning

I've always believed that an idea takes birth at multiple places at any given instant but enters into the world from a place (or two). The strongest ‘will’ usually gives life to the idea. So, if one sticks at it and runs that extra mile, it might make all the difference.

All said and done, it requires a lot of guts to keep trudging ahead but eventually it pays off. 2tion did continue working for education and is now present in the market as Edserv. As an effort from our side, we're supporting Education startups through our campaign, Edustars, which we hope will recognize many such ideas and bring them to the fore.

- Jubin Mehta