OPA: Linking markets and technology for a new era of publishing
Your new career in optical publishing
Whether you know it now or not, your involvement in CDROM - and its myriad implications - is changing your job description and your career path. The OPA will help provide the basic background you need to apply new media to your problem. From SGML to new distribution channels, from writing the business plan to data conversion, OPA gives you the data you need to be successful in your project and product development.
Can you keep up on your own?
The Optical Publishing Association is the only professional and trade association dedicated to keeping its members informed about all the factors that constitute the emerging optical and digital publishing industry.
CDROM and multimedia integrate elements of the three most influential businesses in the communication economy: publishing, computing and entertainment. OPA's primary goal is to provide a forum where these disparate interests come together to form the heart of a dynamic new industry.
With news and developments coming from many directions, it is exceedingly difficult for any individual to follow all the events that will impact the ultimate success of your business. OPA keeps tabs on the industry and maintains a number of programs to keep its membership informed and involved, and ready to meet the challenges of new media.
Publishing: communicating complex ideas at a distance
At its heart, the publishing enterprise is the business of recording ideas for access by many potential customers. Multimedia and database publishing on CDROM combines the power of computing with traditional publishing models and techniques from a variety of communications and entertainment activities to deliver a vast spectrum of information: from basic text to motion video to new categories that integrate data in fascinating new ways.
Corporate publishers
OPA keeps you current on techniques and technology. If your job is capturing and delivering corporate documents to employees, or technical documentation to customers; or if your application for new media is sales support, training, or other innovative uses, OPA can give you the background to build cost-effective alternatives to your existing programs, and can even show you how to make new revenues from your information inventories.
Commercial publishers
OPA wants to help you create successful new products, for both existing customers and new markets. Effective business planning, marketing, team-building, the changing distribution landscape and other issues are equally as important as the technology and new delivery platforms. OPA programs are intended to help you evaluate new opportunities, and provide solid background on the technical choices that can turn those opportunities to profits.
Programs
- "Digital Publishing Business," the membership newsletter which presents new publishing technology in the context of successful business enterprise. "DPB" integrates the news of the many diverse players in an evolving enterprise. "Linking markets and technology in a new era of publishing."
- OPA publishes and re-sells publications relevant to the broad spectrum of digital production and marketing. Members receive some free, like the semi-annual industry Executive Summary Report, and discounts on others.
- OPA Executive Director Rich Bowers is a sysop on CompuServe's CDROM Forum, providing up-to-the-minute expert answers to both developer and consumer questions. A number of OPA lists and publications are also available for down-loading, some exclusively for OPA members.
- The Technical Forum is OPA's interface to the standards development process. OPA has been directly responsible for two standards that relate directly to CDROM production and interface design.
- OPA will produce a number of seminars during the year, with focuses on business issues, product design, and technical development. Members get discounts on attendance.
- Special interest groups will emerge from the interests of the membership, with focuses on both corporate and commercial publishing issues.
- OPA members will receive periodic special offers and discounts on relevant products and services.
Join OPA Today!
In a rapidly changing industry, you have to know not only the latest news, but also how that news will impact your plans or current projects. Join with professionals who share similar challenges, and support the OPA in its efforts to provide the information you need! As an individual or corporate sponsor, your dues return real value throughout the year.
OPA member benefits
OPA promotes and encourages the development of optical publishing; educates the public about the benefits and applications of optical publishing technology; and serves as a conduit for the exchange of information, opinions and analysis within the optical publishing industry. To accomplish these goals, the OPA offers the following services to its members:
Professional members
Professional membership is open to any individual with interests in optical publishing technology, production and/or market development
- One year subscription to "Digital Publishing Business," the OPA's newsletter dedicated to the business of CDROM and new media publishing
- A membership package including:
- A Nautilus intro CDROM
- A starter kit for CompuServe (to access the CDROM Forum and other services)
- A $50 discount coupon for a disc from One-Off CD Shops Inc.
- Semi-annual "Executive Summary" of the commercial and corporate CDROM publishing enterprise
- Participation in OPA Special Interest Groups
- A membership certificate
- Discounts for OPA and other related publications
- Discounts for OPA business and product development seminars
- Discounted ads in the DPB "Classified Index"
- Other discounts and special offers for OPA members to be offered from time to time
Corporate Sponsors
Corporate sponsorship/membership is open to any organization actively involved, or planning to be actively involved, in publishing using optical media, distribution or sales, and/or hardware or software technology development for CDROM/multimedia products.
- Call for benefits and opportunities
Planned OPA Programs
OPA plans to offer the following activities, based on interest and volunteer participation.
- Seminar series
- Organization of local/regional chapters
- Market research programs for specific market segments and technologies
- Special newsletters for OPA SIGS
****************************************
New OPA Members
receive a free copy of the latest
The CDROM Publishing Enterprise
Executive Summary Report:
1993 - First of Year
(summarizing 1992 and projecting 1993)
- What is the installed base of CDROM drives, and how fast are they selling?
- What is the penetration of CDROM in corporate publishing?
- What are the CDROM platform alternatives and how do they impact the business?
- How can you project sales for 1994 and beyond?
- What products and issues impact your planning?
- How can you evaluate market studies and reports?
- What are the essential issues for publishers?
- How is the distribution landscape changing?
The answers to these questions and more appear in each semi-annual report compiled by the Optical Publishing Association. If your job and/or your company or project depend on solid information about publishing on new media, you need this report.
This publication is worth $50, but you get it FREE with your membership in OPA.
There is no better bargain for the current or prospective new media publisher:
- 2 semi-annual industry reports (each valued at $50)
-12 monthly issues of Digital Publishing Business newsletter
- $50 coupon for a one-off disc
- Discounts on publications, and other resources
- Your membership supports a variety of efforts to assist individual publishers, collect and disseminate information about the business, and generally support efforts to make CDROM a mainstream publishi
