Flickr: Jeff_WernerOver in the Nonprofit Webmasters affinity group, Melissa Barry from the Parkinson's Disease Foundation started a great conversation. She asked for some help in identifying interactive e-book resources that she could then use to create an annual report, referencing the 2009 annual report from VolunteerMatch as an example of what she was looking for.

 

The discussion took a turn, not only answering Melissa's question, but really dissecting when to use an interactive e-book format and when regular old PDF or paper copy works just as well if not better.

The important thing to remember, before you put your precious resources and time into creating an electronic annual report, is that you want to make sure you're working with a tech-savvy audience that will be able to access your report in this format. At the end of the day, regardless of what tools you choose, if the report is not designed for the user, they aren't going to get anything out of it.

After all, you're writing the report because you want your audience/community/board to read it.

So, how do you even begin to decide what method of delivery is right for you? First, think about your audience, think about your message, and figure out which pieces of information are the most important for you to get across. Once you've got that figured out, evaluate how your audience is likely to receive that information.

Luckily, the group was quick to respond with resources, reviews, and examples. I've aggregated a list of tools and other resources mentioned below (in no particular order):

• Yudu: Yudu is a free tool that converts a PDF into a "page turning" publication. You can then foward the link or embed the material.
• Calibre: Calibre is an e-book management tool that also converts documents into a number of e-book formats.
• Prezi: There was a lot of discussion around Prezi in the forum. It's a presentation tool that takes the viewer on a non-linear, interactive path through the material, allowing users to click and move around the presentation at their choosing.
• Issuu: Issuu is a popular digital publishing platform that also allows users to search a directory of the many magazines & reports that they have published.
• Last but not least, it was also mentioned that your organization could create something in InDesign and convert that document into an interactive PDF. Here are some instructions on how to do that.