Originally posted by: TonyPearson

This blog-based book, or “blook”, comprises the first twelve months of posts from this Inside System Storage blog,165 posts in all, from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007. Foreword by Jennifer Jones. 404 pages. IT storage and storage networking concepts IBM strategy, hardware, software and services Disk systems, Tape systems, and storage networking Storage and infrastructure management software Second Life, Facebook, and other Web 2.0 platforms IBM’s many alliances, partners and competitors How IT storage impacts society and industry

You can choose between hardcover (with dust jacket) or paperback versions:

• Hardcover: http://www.lulu.com/content/1556136
• Paperback: http://www.lulu.com/content/1257852

This is not the first time I've been published. I have authored articles for storage industry magazines, written large sections of IBM publications and manuals, submitted presentations and whitepapers to conference proceedings, and even had a short story published with illustrations by the famous cartoon writer[Ted Rall].

But I can say this is my first blook, and as far as I can tell, the first blook from IBM's many bloggers on DeveloperWorks, and the first blook about the IT storage industry.I got the idea when I saw [Lulu Publishing] run a "blook" contest. The Lulu Blooker Prize is the world's first literary prize devoted to "blooks"--books based on blogs or other websites, including webcomics. The [Lulu Blooker Blog] lists past year winners. Lulu is one of the new innovative "print-on-demand" publishers. Rather than printing hundredsor thousands of books in advance, as other publishers require, Lulu doesn't print them until you order them.

I considered cute titles like A Year of Living Dangerously, orAn Engineer in Marketing La-La land, or Around the World in 165 Posts, but settled on a title that matched closely the name of the blog.

In addition to my blog posts, I provide additional insights and behind-the-scenes commentary. If you go to the Luluwebsite above, you can preview an entire chapter in its entirety before purchase. I have added a hefty 56-page Glossary of Acronyms and Terms (GOAT) with over 900 storage-related terms defined, which also doubles as an index back to the post (or posts) that use or further explain each term.

So who might be interested in this blook?

• Business Partners and Sales Reps looking to give a nice gift to their best clients and colleagues
• Managers looking to reward early-tenure employees and retain the best talent
• IT specialists and technicians wanting a marketing perspective of the storage industry
• Mentors interested in providing motivation and encouragement to their proteges
• Educators looking to provide books for their classroom or library collection
• Authors looking to write a blook themselves, to see how to format and structure a finished product
• Marketing personnel that want to better understand Web 2.0, Second Life and social networking
• Analysts and journalists looking to understand how storage impacts the IT industry, and society overall
• College graduates and others interested in a career as a storage administrator

And yes, according to Lulu, if you order soon, you can have it by December 25.

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