{"id":1875,"date":"2013-03-26T16:36:59","date_gmt":"2013-03-26T15:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.feedingedge.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1875"},"modified":"2013-03-26T16:36:59","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T15:36:59","slug":"working-the-cloud-launch-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.feedingedge.co.uk\/blog\/2013\/03\/26\/working-the-cloud-launch-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Working the Cloud – Launch Party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I was pleased to get a chance to head to London last Friday for the launch of Kate Russell’s new book Working the Cloud<\/a>. Amazingly this is Kate’s first book which given how often she has provided interesting tech news on the TV on shows like BBC Click is pretty amazing. Mind you, I have not written a book yet either \ud83d\ude09
\nSo yes I was at the launch party along with other media people and fellow tweeters, but I wouldn’t write about something unless I thought it had something going for it. This book and its supporting material certainly does. <\/p>\n

So what is the book all about<\/a> ? Well it is a fantastic curated collection of useful tools to help anyone who has not yet fully realised the power of the web in getting things done. Starting a business, communicating with customers, creating interesting content etc. it is all covered.
\nIt is not merely a collection of URL’s as each is explained as to the benefits of a particular tool or web application. Each section also has more than one alternative and is also peppered with tips. This is because Kate is writing about things she has used, is using and in some cases maybe stopped using for a better alternative.
\nThis is really an expression of Maker culture, but for the more apparent mainstream ability to just get on with things. Too often people want to read lots of instructions for each application, making decisions as if there was not way to change afterwards. I think the book points to a spirit of doing. There are a stack of tools out there, they are accessible, often free or very cheap and there is no excuse for not using them.
\nTo prove the point that there is more than one way to uv unwrap a feline polygon model Kate has done more than just publish a book. There is the ongoing companion website http:\/\/workingthecloud.biz\/<\/a> and apps for mobile devices too.
\nThe cover of the book itself is an augmented reality trigger for Aurasma’s app too. Something worth having a look (and listen to) if you see a physical copy of the book in a shop. The intro (without sound on) can raise a few eyebrows someone is looking over your shoulder \ud83d\ude09
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\nKate also did a virtual book signing. Oddly I missed this as I was in a Choi Kwang Do class at the time. However it was a transmedia gig using Google Hangout
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