From the web this week
Two related things on the development of the internet from the web this week – Don’t Save the Press by Žiga Turk:
Print, paper, and newspapers enabled the rise of new types of political systems based on expanded popular participation. The transition was not smooth, but those who understood the signs of the times early gained a historical head start. It is not a coincidence that Benjamin Franklin had a background in printing and newspaper publishing. The liberal-democratic political system that resulted from the American Revolution was well aligned with the emerging information technology of the time.
In the same way, he argues, the internet will require new forms of political representation into the future. Elsewhere, over at Melville House publishing, the implications of the internet for the future of the publishing industry and the work of writers:
The digital publishing dream is a wet one, for many publishers. Like kids in an old (very old) fashioned lolly shop, we’re surrounded by possibilities. Sure, it’s a little scary, as all good adventures should be. The lure of science fiction dangles enticingly in front of us and the learning curve beckons us onward and upward. We are athletes on the Tour de France. Some of us are in better shape than others. It hurts, the pain in our chests, the threat of defeat, the seemingly unattainable summit where Apple trees flourish and welcome us with open arms. We think we can, we think we can, and we can of course we can; this is nothing short of a revolution. A global coup in the analogue to digital migration. If ever the world was an oyster, then surely it is now.
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