Books, albeit 'live' or interactive, will remain a part of the human experience forever....And they will primarily consist of text, whatever the media format. Publishers, as an industry, will not. That industry has been fragmented into a democratic individualistic endeavor, if you will...A vastly more level and responsive playing field

Everyone who writes and presents are now 'publishers'...Talk about an all-inclusive vertical business model...In fact, talk about an all-inclusive horizontal business model, as well. Must be an all-inclusive "all-inclusive" business model that is unfolding before our eyes.

And what is making all this possible? Of course, it's new technology. Starting with the internet itself , encompassing mobiles, tablets and flashing ahead with lightning speed to the "next-whatever".

Publishing is now more fun for more people...Question is, how profitable? I suspect the old staples of good writing and great marketing will do the exact same job for remuneration as they did before the pub-tech renaissance.

This visionary article by John Naughton from the Guardian:

Publishers take note: the iPad is altering the very concept of a 'book'
If the success of Amazon's Kindle has made print publishers relax, they're in for a nasty surprise

One of the glories of our print culture is the Economist, a magazine that combines eccentric, neoliberal editorial views with excellent, well-informed reporting. I have been a subscriber to it for more years than I care to remember and every weekend have tried to carve out the 90 minutes of undivided attention that it demands. It turns out that I am a perfectly normal customer in this respect.

In November 2009, I went to a talk given by Andrew Rashbass, CEO of the Economist, about the company's digital strategy. He related how he had commissioned research in a large number of countries into how subscribers in those territories used the publication. The message that came back was consistent: people who buy the Economist make a weekly "appointment" with the magazine – time that they set aside to read it. The conclusion: publications such as the Economist provide "immersive reading experiences", something that the web could not provide.

Under questioning, Rashbass was coy about what his digital strategy involved, but it was clear to all in the room that he was pinning his hopes on what was at the time a purely mythical product, the device that eventually materialised as the Apple iPad.

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