Publishing is on of those ‘authoritative institutions’ that’s getting blown up by people connecting directly with one another. Financial institutions, media companies in general, even governments have lost a lot of their credibility. Yet what people gain from quicker, less edited engagement with one another they sometimes lose in the quality and utility of that engagement. Publishers take too long but they also review, analyze, edit, and stand behind what they publish. No amount of direct contact can replace that, per se.

There’s nothing stopping ‘middle-tier’ authors from engaging with their readers just like Seth proposes to do. Hell, anybody can write and distribute a book these days. The problem is that very little of it is any good, and all of the blather about ‘content’ and ‘engagement’ doesn’t make up for it…

I’m actually waiting for said authoritative institutions to rebuild their credibility and stature by helping consumers make sense of the online chaos. In this sense, Seth has just taken himself out of the conversation.

Anyway, great post.

JSB

I was unaware that Ronald had become the focal point for addressing our countries obesity problem. Focusing on the mascot of a single fast food company as the cause of this problem is just plain silly. I agree that the Let’s Move approach to the problem makes a lot more sense. Instilling healthy eating habits is primarily a parent’s responsibility, but having good choices reinforced outside of the home can be beneficial as well. Bringing down the clown will have no impact on behaviors at all. Ray