Publishing Next ’12: A Conversation with Brij Singh, Founder, Fliplog, a Mobile Apps Platform for eBooks and eLearning

Technology is changing the way content is delivered and consumed. The traditional teacher–pupil model is supplemented by Internet and educational content in varied forms—online courses, apps, and self-learning tools. Brij Singh is founder of Fliplog, which provides native mobile apps for iPads, iPhones, and Android platforms aimed at the ePublishing and eLearning market besides other mobile app services. Fliplog also has entered into partnerships with traditional publishers such as Tulika, Karadi Tales, Pratham Books, Cambridge University Press and Pearson to convert print books into eBooks and make them available on the iPhone and iPad platforms. Fliplog was one of the 10 finalists of AppIndia contest conducted by YourStory last year in association with Intel.

Brij Singh, an IIT Roorkee graduate with 10 years as a serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley before launching Fliplog, feels the ePublishing market has to crystallize and is quite hazy now. Early adopters are hard to come by in India, with an eLearning market of $110 million, and cultural resistance to learning through devices might be a factor. In a conversation with YourStory ahead of Publishing Next ’12 (a conference on future of Indian publishing), he spells out the common challenges digital solution providers like him face. Education segment, being slow on embracing new trends coupled with lack of cost-effective technology, might take time to take off. Brij Singh is confident that this is set to change in the future.

After Silicon Valley, what prompted you to start up in the App space and concentrate on eBooks on mobile and tablet formats?

While in Silicon Valley I was able to follow all the app excitement around iPhone. Later on when iPad was launched it was pretty clear that these devices are going to be disruptive in the way we consume content. eBooks was a natural format to take off and lot of innovation started to happen around the broader theme of future of content on tablets. We also put in our thoughts by publishing traditional books and results have been very encouraging.

How is the uptake of Fliplog services and products in the Indian market? Are you selling globally too?

Its exciting time for us. We are pleased with the way we are growing. Slow and steady! We like to see ourselves at the overlapping area of technology and creativity. It’s a new area for us and we are still learning the design side of the equation. We recently hit million downloads for our kidosphere apps and most of them are from outside India.

One instance of a strategic partnership of Fliplog is with Tulika Books who haven’t developed eBook capabilities. Is this the way the eBook ecosystem will evolve in India – a marriage of technologists with traditional print publishers?

We love working with Tulika Books. It’s not an exclusive arrangement though. We also work with Pratham Books, Karadi Tales and few more. Technology side of publishing business is moving very fast and it’s throwing all sorts of challenges. Both sides have to work together in experimental mode as distribution, pricing, feature mix all are getting re-imagined. We are still searching for the right combination.Can you give us an indication of activity on eBook apps at the school or student level?

Our kidosphere apps are getting good downloads in US schools. In India there is a cultural resistance for apps right now. We are going to see more and more schools adopt eBooks as a way to promote self-learning and after-school activity. Lot of students prefer self-learning. I used to belong in that category, and for them model where content and assessment is available in a self-paced manner is fantastic. We will see more and more hybrid approach there.

How is the App market going to develop in your view in India, given that there are no affordable devices (Kindle and smartphones are pricey)? Is mobile an option for scaling eProducts?

It’s going to be slow. In comparison to other verticals, education industry moves very slowly. Also they still haven't seen full return on their previous smart class investments. It’s going to be important for startups and vendors to pace properly. Eventually we are going to see schools come onboard. Some schools in India are experimenting with eBooks, adaptive learning models and online assessments. Most of this is going to be driven by economics though. Lot of trends have to coincide. Market makers can really alter the equation here and we are all waiting for favorable government policies, Reliance for 4G rollout, Google to further subsidize handset side of business. It can happen faster.What’s exciting about PublishingNext ’12 for you and your business? What do you expect would be the outcome?

Indian publishing industry is at a very exciting point. Net per capita consumption of books is still very low compared to other countries. So we can directly make an impact locally and leapfrog on global trends. What events like PublishingNext do is they allow us to share our challenges and opportunities. Leonard and his team has done a great job in identifying a theme which resonates very well with all participants. We want to learn what others are doing and also share what we are doing in Fliplog with other community members. I am looking forward to this event.

YourStory.in is the online media partner for Publishing Next ‘12. Please visit Publishing Next home page for registrations.

-Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy, chief evangelist