Five Thoughts on Publishing

1. Publishing does not belong to publishers. It’s a fundamental activity that belongs to human life; it’s communication. One-to-many has irreplaceable value. Blogs are published diaries, newspapers are there to tell you what’s happening in the world, magazines to distract, entertain, educate. But in between those extremes we have a rich, fertile land full of publishing.
   
   
   • Businesses publish. They have to buy coffee, and they have to publish. Newsletters, company reports, status updates, brochures. You have to communicate to your customers and unless you plan to call each one up by phone, you are going to publish.
     
   • Professional organizations publish. You gather with other nurses, or IAs, or engineers, or accountants to get better at your job, and the way you do that is to share what you’ve learned. From peer-reviewed papers to emailing lists, the professional organization exists most to exchange knowledge.
     
   • Hobbyists publish. There is no delight on this earth that is as good as when its shared. Do you love fishing, knitting, lawn bowling, origami… doesn’t matter, your love is always better when you share it. Like the professional organization, everyone strives to get better but now you are broadcasting out of personal pride.
     
   • Enthusiasts Publish. From spec miatas to organic produce, everyone has some funny little thing that lights them up inside. And those people can’t stop looking to read more about it, and eventually when they run out, they start sharing what they know. Because its that great. And everyone should know its that great.
     
   • Schools- all school publish, from ‘zines to newspapers. It’s good for the kids.
     
   • Localities- The Mountain View Voice is a newspaper, but still rooted in its ‘hood more than the world, the Barron Neighborhood Association is a jumped up newsletter and every coop seems to have their own “what’s happening” publication.
   
   
2. Blogging is less satisfying *and* less effective than being with a group. I had coffee with

   It would be silly of me to even bother mapping a mommyblogger to maya’s mom or babycenter. Groups do better. Every member is also a writer, a fan, a marketeer, a copyeditor, a bugtracker—there is power in the people, and more people more power.
   
   Digg? Take a look at yesterday’s headlines: money making scams and insults. Is this the shining future of citizen journalism?
   

   There is a rising backlash against the lack of trustworthiness found in current citizen journalism; i.e. bloggers. Previous posts capture some of the frustration against un-fact-checked, biased, half-truthed corporate shills and the rest of the rubble that makes ordinary peoples’ lives actually worse. I’ve also blogged about the mess anonymous comments and posts can create from spam to trolls to actual cyberstalking. It’s time for responsibility and reputation.

   What if there is a middle group? What if we can combine editorial insight with the collective wisdom of the crowds? Do these two really have to be opposed? I think the future will take the best of old media and new, and create a far more participatory and engaging BUT trustworthy generation of publication, and in the best scenario that will also include Karl’s Printshop down the street allowing his customers to give each other advice on how to make chapbooks and posters.

3. Finally, and this is the most difficult for me to articulate, I believe the economy must evolve to support these folks. Maybe Karl the printer is good for awhile longer yet, and small businesses like him can consider their publishing a cost of doing business or even a loyalty play. But the bloggers are begging for a way to make a buck doing the thing they love, the thing that eats up their every waking hour. The enthusiasts, the hobbyists, the schools, and all the rest may not have much hope for making a living doing this anymore than folks who held a garage sale once a year thought they’d go pro before eBay showed up. They deserve to make a living doing the thing they love best. I think we all deserve that.
   

That’s why we built PublicSquare, and the other products that will come on its heels such as the job board and the events calendar. Publishing is changing, and we’d like to help.