Eric Scoles wrote:
>
> ...
> Which makes Schnittman's phrasing particularly interesting: "Ebooks 
> *must* fail." Because if they don't, the publishing industry 
> (including Oxford U Press) will have to be so radically restructured 
> that Schnittman will lose his job. Or worse, his spiritual footing.
>
> They must fail, so he can get to keep his hard-won understanding of 
> the world.
Exactly.  I don't feel that much apart from him in my own experience.  
My "hard-won understanding of the world" keeps getting overhauled and 
overmauled.  I try to do what I can about it before it mauls me even 
more.  Denial doesn't help.  So when Nortel purged so many of us ten 
years ago, I was ready.
>  
>
>     6.  A lot of people don't like this chaos -- a lot of middlemen
>     have to
>     reinvent themselves.  But it's what we've facing, so we're better off
>     embracing it.  The chaos creates new worlds of opportunity.  It's
>     up to
>     us as creators of value to find and exploit them.
>
>
>
> I tend to see the negative on things like this.
Oh yes.  Most of what I posted here restates obvious negative points, 
but what to do?  As Warren Zevon put it, "Life'll Kill Ya."
> Chaos on this scale leaves pain in its wake. And we're just talking 
> about one industry, here: The changes you discuss, that we're all 
> aware of, and that the 'netbooks-ebooks etc.' post Frank offered point 
> to, all imply very radical restructuring of many industries. And 
> that's not even beginning to account for the ripple effects.
>
> True, there are opportunities to 'exploit.' But there's a reason 
> 'exploit' has largely negative connotations.
LOL!  Unless you're a major hacker... (;-)

But the negative for many of us includes having to do so much more 
self-promotion, advertising, marketing, sales, bargaining, buttering-up, 
weasel-wording, deals, contracts -- all the business those handy 
middlemen disposed of in the old universe.  I loathed all that.  Now I 
have to learn to make it fun, or at least not nauseating.  The guy on 
"Have Gun, Will Travel" had a business card, I think...
>
> Not that I disagree with you about any of it.
>
>
We're pulling oars in the same fleet of lifeboats.  Maybe we'll learn to 
navigate too.
>
>
> -- 
> eric scoles ([email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>)
>
> >

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