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Published on September 23, 2007

Sirisak Koshpasharin, 40, has spent the past couple of years testing a new business model that attempts to link old and new media together via a Japanese technology called "e-Scanner".

In his capacity as the CEO of Mediamax, Sirisak earlier this year launched an "interactive" magazine called Glitz & Glam that allows readers to enjoy both the printed material as well as additional resources on the Web or CDs.

"We're licensed by the Japanese inventor to use this kind of scanner, also known as the Grid Onput, in Thailand. It comes in the form of an electronic pen, which allows you to point on most pages of the printed magazine to access more online resources.

"The pen is connected to the Web or CDs via the USB port. It can read the codes printed on magazine pages so that readers have instant access to additional texts or multimedia content, such as videos.

"Adverts in the magazine also have the same multimedia and interactive features. So far, we've published six monthly issues of Glitz and Glam with a monthly print run of around 10,000 copies. "My next project is to create e-textbooks for students preparing to take the national entrance exams, as more and more state universities will admit qualified students directly.

"These e-textbooks will be printed just like any other texts but with special codes that allow students to access additional online resources.

"It will be multimedia in the sense that complicated science topics such as physics or chemistry or biology would be better explained in the multimedia format with audio or video clips or animations, etc.

"It will also be interactive in the sense that there will be e-exercises at the end of each chapter so that students can test their understanding of the subject matter and know instantly if their answers to given problems are correct or not.

"If not, there will be more explanation to help students to have a better understanding of the topics. In addition, I look forward to producing e-textbooks for secondary and primary schools so as to help reduce the education gap among the rich and poor.

"These texts will be only about 10 per cent more expensive than the usual ones, while the extra pens will cost slightly more, but e-textbooks will allow students to learn science and technology, for instance, more effectively.

"Every province has an Internet broadband connection, so the major provincial schools could provide online access for additional resources, while most other schools which are farther away now have computers so they could still provide additional resources offline via CDs.

"For e-textbooks, the potential market in Thailand is as large as 16 million students at around 38,000 schools nation-wide.

"In fact, we've even produced animated books for a United Nations project, so our products are now internationally recognised," said Sirisak, who is also an expert on animation and graphic design.

A graduate of Assumption University, Sirisak started his animation business under another firm, called Imagimax, seven years ago.

Last year, this unit, which employs about 100 animators, graphic designers and related staff, generated sales turnover of Bt60 million. "So far, we've produced about 20 titles for Playstation and X-box games as well as numerous animated and computer-generated works, such as music videos for ad agencies and other clients in Thailand and abroad.

"Other applications include e-tourism guidebooks, e-entertainment, e-catalogues for direct selling, e-maps or other forms of e-learning and e-commerce or even e-newspaper using this technology to link the old with the new media.

"It's sort of a hybrid technology, since going straight to the new media like creating an e-magazine in the form of a CD alone doesn't work. It's just not practical, so we need a hybrid model for multimedia content and interactivity.

"We're also producing an e-book to commemorate His Majesty the King's 80th birthday. It's multimedia and interactive.

"I guess the old media like paper will still be around for quite some time. In the next 10 years, there will still be printed magazines, for example. But the added value will probably come from the digital technology, " says Sirisak.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com