How to earn money with a knowledgebase in TheBrain?
387 posts GerSch 387 posts
GerSch in TheBrain Uses
A Brain is a really great way to bring knowledge to the people.

Brain Visibility
Public - Available to the general public
Unlisted - Public but does not appear on the Explore page
Private - Only visible to people you specify with user roles

When the knowledge in this Brain is so good and important or a timesaver for the people that I want to get money for it, what ways do I have to organize the access to a Brain against paying?

"Public" do not work, because the Brain is shown on the Explorer page and everybody can have a look. "Unlisted" should work, but if my customer gives the url of the Brain to another person, this person has access, too?

"Private"? I have to add him as a user. "Enter a name, email address, or username and select a match from the list that appears. Users without Brain accounts will receive an invitation to join so they can view your Brain." So this means that my customer must have or create a TheBrain account, or? And if a customer has paid I must invite him by hand... Mmh??

So there seems no way to create a public, unlisted link for every customer without creating or having a TheBrain account in an automated way?

Any ideas?
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mcaton Moderator 3,707 posts
mcaton
GerSch,

Have you considered embedding your Brain on a Web site that you own?  Here are the instructions for this process:

http://www.thebrain.com/support/tutorials/sharing/website/

This can be an unlisted Brain.  The site that you embed your Brain on can even be password protected.  So your customers would need to purchase a subscription to YOUR web site where you have your Brain being displayed.  Then you have a bit more control of adding or disabling user access at any time.

Thanks,
Matt
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metta 1,121 posts
metta
Thanks for your great feedback, Matt!

This simple and elegant solution to the overcoming the registration hurdle significantly enhances both ease of access and control -- and, in so doing, it offers much greater feasibility for using TheBrain as a training tool. Many thanks! :-)

Also, here are a couple of tips for those interested in testing this embed option:

> Be sure to set the height and width in your iFrame code each to 100% if you want to take advantage of TheBrain's responsive display.
> Be sure to customize your embedded brain by disabling the sharing option for any password protected brain: Right click on plex > Share > Customize embedded Brain > Disable sharing

For those who have already been using this embed/password strategy to sell access to a brain knowledge base, I would love to know more about your experience, including:
> challenges
> successes and
> recommendations.

I am particularly interested in learning what (if any) help was needed to support your clients/customers in becoming comfortable with the navigating the webrain interface.

With appreciation and interest,
Metta
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mctrexler 559 posts
mctrexler
We are currently experimenting with this approach, having built a subscription Brain that is accessed through our Website.   Link is http://www.climatographer.com/business-risk-subscription-dashboard/
 
Temporary password is Risk3795

I suspect the ability to use TheBrain in this way may vary by subject matter. With the audiences we are working with we are finding it very difficult to get traction with TheBrain, particularly given the limitations of Webbrain.  Most people are intimidated/confused by the interface, although we're currently testing how to use abundant videos to try and overcome that problem.  If anyone has successfully done what Matt describes in terms of building a business model using TheBrain I'd love to hear about it!   

Not sure what Metta is referring to in terms of the 100% settings.  We're using a wide variety of embedded Brain sizes on different web pages, and TheBrain works well regardless.  It's certainly true that the larger the embedded frame the most flexibility you have, but there may also be a tradeoff in terms of how effectively the embedded frame links back to the web page text.  

Mark
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metta 1,121 posts
metta
mctrexler wrote:
Not sure what Metta is referring to in terms of the 100% settings.


Included in each brain's embed code are default settings that define the height and width of the brain display. The default settings are enumerated in pixels:
> style="width:600px; height:600px"

To make the brain responsive on any size screen, simply change these settings to 100%:
> style="width:100%; height:100%"

Hope this helps! :-)

Update: I just now checked the brain you shared, Mark, and I see that it already is responsive.

May I ask: what are the height and width settings for this brain?

 
~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Also, Mark, please see the tip I just now added above (in my previous note) about disabling the sharing function for any brain that is private and password protected.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

FYI, I realized earlier today there is one distinct disadvantage to using an embedded brain display:
==> As far as I can tell there's no way to send anyone directly to a specific thought in the embedded brain (apart from simply telling your user which thought name to search for) since the only available URL is for the page within which the brain is embedded.

Will that be a problem for you, Mark, in terms of how you plan to use your subscription brain?

Also, have you received any feedback from new and/or prospective users about the wealth of videos you've provided helping with the initial learning curve?
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mctrexler 559 posts
mctrexler

Thanks Metta.  Still not sure exactly what that "disable sharing" is about, but I've just done as you suggested!  

I'm pretty sure the Brain I provided a link to is 100 x 100; My only point was that the embedded Brains are still perfectly functional at 75 x 75 etc, and there may be some advantages to the smaller size in better integrating them into a web page.  

BTW, you are correct that there is no way to give someone a URL link in an email that will take them to a specific thought inside your embedded Brain on a webpage. HOWEVER, you can provide a link to the webpage, and it is possible to provide links on the webpage that activate different links in the embedded Brain on that webpage. For example, take a look at this embedded Brain with multiple links that users can choose from:  

http://climatographer.com/business-risks/
 

I don't know how Laura set the links up, but I'll ask her to post that info.  

Mark
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metta 1,121 posts
metta
mctrexler wrote:
Thanks Metta.  Still not sure exactly what that "disable sharing" is about, but I've just done as you suggested!

Nothing really complicated about it, Mark. I just assumed that if access to your subscription brain depends upon users making a payment, you probably wouldn't want them sharing the unlisted webbrain links with others, since they would be by-passing your subscription paywall. 

mctrexler wrote:
I'm pretty sure the Brain I provided a link to is 100 x 100

Interesting! I'm not quite sure why a brain with a designated dimension like this would also be responsive. Perhaps Matt or Patrick could weigh in on this and clarify?

For example, perhaps the designated dimension only specifies the default display, and the webbrain is "smart" enough to adjust its size to accommodate the viewing device?

mctrexler wrote:
My only point was that the embedded Brains are still perfectly functional at 75 x 75 etc, and there may be some advantages to the smaller size in better integrating them into a web page.

Thanks for clarifying.

mctrexler wrote:
BTW, you are correct that there is no way to give someone a URL link in an email that will take them to a specific thought inside your embedded Brain on a webpage. HOWEVER, you can provide a link to the webpage, and it is possible to provide links on the webpage that activate different links in the embedded Brain on that webpage. For example, take a look at this embedded Brain with multiple links that users can choose from:  

http://climatographer.com/business-risks/
 

I don't know how Laura set the links up, but I'll ask her to post that info.

Very cool! Didn't know this was possible, Mark, so I will be looking forward to Laura's feedback about how she set up these links to display within your embedded brain, rather than redirecting to the webbrain itself.
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lhkosloff 7 posts
lhkosloff
Hi Metta,

Re what the embedded business climate risk brain is set at: The settings for our embedded brains are set at width 1500 and height 900. I don't change them to 100%/100%. When we want to reduce the size, I change the pixels (e.g., width 750 and height 450 if I want it to be half the size). Hadn't thought about using %, and realizing that makes good sense.

Re how to embed the brain and how to get hyperlinks that go into the embedded brain rather than going to webbrain: That's a bit hard to just post here and since I'm not an expert or even a really knowledgeable user of HTML I would probably not explain it well anyway. The links that allow linking to the embedded brain are HTML codes that go into the text on one's webpage. We had someone design a plugin that we installed on our Wordpress website, and then there are two shortcodes for the iframe for the embedded brain and for the links that then go straight into the embedded brain. If anyone wants all the info and the plugin, send me an email.

Laura
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metta 1,121 posts
metta
Laura, thanks so much for offering to share your intriguing Wordpress plugin!  I am keenly interested, and apologize for the delay in replying.

Just now sent you a direct email.

Thanks again! [smile]
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metta 1,121 posts
metta
Laura and/or Mark ~

Have either of you tested your WP plugin with TB9?

I'm just curious if it will work with both versions of TheBrain.
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