Today we’d like to introduce you to David Massey.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I founded the Worldwide Center of Mathematics in 2008, with the mission of engaging and nurturing the local and global mathematics communities. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused solely on mathematics, the Center of Math publishes research and other academic resources. Leveraging today’s technology, the Center of Math produces primarily digital resources, including textbooks, videos, research and more.
The digital textbooks are high-quality, but are priced very low, in order to give students a break on the already high cost of attending college.
We host a semi-monthly research seminar in our video-ready classroom. These lectures are recorded and are made freely available on the web.
We record many, many short math videos and upload them to YouTube for free access. We also host the Cambridge Combinatorics Coffee Club four or five times a year.
As an amusing note, we have had many people tell us that the “worldwide” in the company name was a little self-aggrandizing. In fact, the “worldwide” in the company name was intended to be a clear reference to the “worldwide web”, since that’s the primary way we expect people to engage with us. Apparently many/most people don’t make this connection.
Has it been a smooth road?
It is more difficult to penetrate the publishing market than we expected. Despite the fact that most educators these days seem concerned about the high prices of textbooks, they still prefer to stick with the mathematics textbooks from the big publishers, which tend to be very expensive. The mathematical quality of our textbooks is very high, but the low price may lead instructors to believe that there must be something wrong with the books. Also, the large publishers have sales forces that can visit institutions; we do not have the sales force to do that, and so must use the Internet, word of mouth, and mathematics conferences to advertise our books.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Worldwide Center of Mathematics story. Tell us more about the business.
We produce mathematics videos and social media, and host mathematics research talks. The only products that we sell are our digital and printed mathematics textbooks. These textbooks are high-quality, but very low in price. We are especially proud of the value of our digital textbooks, and that we can reduce the financial burden on college STEM students.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We fully expect digital textbooks, at reasonable prices, to be the standard within 10 years. The days when the large publishers can gouge college students are coming to an end.
Pricing:
- Many of our digital textbooks (pdf’s) are priced at $14.95, and some are just $9.95.
Contact Info:
- Address: Worldwide Center of Mathematics, 929 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 102, Cambridge, MA, 02139
- Website: http://www.centerofmath.org
- Phone: 617-245-0171
- Email: info@centerofmath.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerofmath/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerofmath/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/centerofmath
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/CenterofMath
Image Credit:
Worldwide Center of Mathematics
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