David Brake is a veteran of the book publishing industry. Early in his career he developed a successful methodology for building “communities around content,” a process that resulted in several best-selling titles that have sold over 10 million copies. He has redefined the way successful content is conceived, published, and promoted. The first 15 years of his career included editorial and management positions at McGraw-Hill, Pearson/Prentice Hall, Time Warner and Times Mirror. He started The Grandview Group in 2010 as a resource for helping publishers create more effective and marketable content.

 

Brake was the coauthor of the first edition of The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success (Wiley, 2009), a best-selling book that puts his proven methodology for connecting with people into a framework that helps businesses leverage the power of social media and communities.

 

He is also the founder of Pubcentral, a community-centric content review technology that engages target communities and audiences in a collaborative feedback process.

 

A storyteller at his core, Brake believes that every successful product has a compelling backstory that connects with its target audience and drives conversation and revenue within that community.

 

In his spare time Brake is a distance road cyclist, participating in timed endurance events that range from 200 to 1200 kilometers. Somebody’s got to do it.