The Case

Unlike a traditional, digital-only social site, Bookcrossing helps members track the life of the books they love and free books globally so the world becomes a library.  Using their unique identifier (a BookCrossing ID), members can tag and pass on or ‘release’ books into the wild for others to enjoy.  As the book moves from reader to reader, everyone in the chain can enjoy tracking the book’s travels; often around the world.  Looking for a book? Check out bookcrossing.com to see if someone has released it in your neighborhood.

Although Bookcrossing.com has been around since 2001, the idea behind the site is timeless.  Bookcrossing came to MetaXpert with the desire to give it a face-lift and incorporate more socially-driven elements into the eco-system of the property.  This included an entire site redesign, a new Facebook application and a new iPhone application for users who wanted to see where nearby books existed wherever they were – and track the release of their own books as it happened.  
Using the MetaXpert approach, MetaXpert provided new creative for the bookcrossing site and worked with the management team to socialize new features like the Facebook application and iPhone application to the inner circle of committed members.  As feedback was received, MetaXpert continued to work to engage the dialogue and deliver something that pleased existing bookcrossers – and positioned the company for significant user growth.

Scheduled for release in Q2, 2010, the new design, the Facebook application, and the iPhone application are sure to be a smashing success as they take an existing and strong community of just under 1M users, and prepare it for factorial growth, increased user engagement and new mechanisms for monetization.
MetaXpert provided the following in our engagement for Bookcrossing.

• Updated identity
• Creative services
• Facebook application development
• iPhone application development
• Software testing