Students, are you sick of spending $1000 a year on college textbooks? Flat World Knowledge, LLC is set to reduce your costs by 80 percent.What is Flat World Knowledge? It's a privately owned company that offers free textbooks online with an open-source license. Students can decide if they want to purchase a printed soft-cover version, an audio book, or study aid. Educators may format the material into their own lesson plan or use the material as is.
Fortune Magazine has labeled Flat World Knowledge one of the five companies to watch for in 2009. Chris Anderson agrees in his new book, "Free: The Future of a Radical Price." Anderson points out Flat World Knowledge's innovative approach and high profit earning business model.
"Once the [the traditional textbook publishing] model crumbles, what will replace it?" Anderson asks, and then answers, "Perhaps something closer to publisher Flat World Knowledge's 'open textbooks,' free works that can be edited, updated, and remixed into custom course materials."
"Once the [the traditional textbook publishing] model crumbles, what will replace it?" Anderson asks, and then answers, "Perhaps something closer to publisher Flat World Knowledge's 'open textbooks,' free works that can be edited, updated, and remixed into custom course materials."
The company will obviously help students reduce their pointless new-edition textbook costs. But how does Flat World make money for writers? Authors earn a 20 percent royalty rate compared to a 15 percent royalty rate for hard-copy texts. In the model, the used book market is completely eliminated as well.
As far as we can tell, Flat World Knowledge is a win-win situation. And... it's good for the environment.
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