From online baby blogs to printed baby books

Online and offline are no longer mutually exclusive realms, as we’ve already pointed out in numerous examples. The latest illustration comes from the world of online baby journals, where purveyors are increasingly beginning to offer print versions as well. To wit: Kidmondo, which we covered this summer, has since added a print option to its offerings. Through a partnership with custom publishing platform Sharedbook, Kidmondo now gives parents a fast and easy way to turn all the content they create online into a “KidBook” in the brick-and-mortar world. Users can pick which parts of the online journal they want to include in the book as well as customizing the content, cover, titles and more. Pricing for the KidBook begins at USD 28 for a perfect-bound softcover book with 20 full-colour pages and free US shipping. Hardcover is also available, and additional pages can be added for USD 0.50 each. KidBooks are currently available only in English, but Kidmondo hopes to accommodate other languages in the future, it says. BabyChapters, meanwhile, is another site that lets parents share their baby’s precious moments with family and friends in a safe and secure way, and also offers an online-offline combination. After creating their free online baby book, parents can select the chapters they’d like to include in a hardcover print version. Prices begin at USD 27.95 for a 24-page book, with a 20 percent discount for additional copies. Los Angeles-based BabyChapters launched in April. For years offline ventures struggled to make their way online. Now that online ventures are often the starting point, opportunities abound in connecting digital offerings with the tangible here and now. (For more on that subject, see trendwatching.com’s OFF=ON briefing.) Online is a given; now offline is cool once more! 😉 (Related: Blurb’s blog-to-book printing.) Websites: www.kidmondo.com — www.babychapters.com Spotted by: Timothy Gutowski