Kassia Krozer of Booksquare posted an Open Letter to the (Book) Publishing Industry where she asks the big publishing houses why they aren’t better represented at the South by Southwest conference in Austin.
On staying current with technology and trends:
What is happening on the ground in this fair city in Texas is what you will pay consultants big bucks to execute in two years. You, dear publishers, will be reacting to a menu of buzzwords and must-do action items that, we suspect, will make little to no sense, but you will be leaping into action regardless. Because you are told you must.
Obviously, Krozer is primarily concerned with the publishing industry, but if we step back from the connected world in which we live, the same criticisms and questions resonate across communities and industries who are seemingly refuse to get on board with change. I’m continually stunned by the number small businesses, for example, who don’t have any online presence. I just want to send them a post card and say, “The yellow pages are dead. Get a Web site.”
Later in the letter Krozer continues:
There is much discussion on new ways to tell stories. What works and doesn’t work in today’s universe. Multi-format storytelling. Cross-platform storytelling. Mixing words and sounds and pictures to extend the story beyond the book. Mixing fiction and reality in the blogosphere and beyond. Story is very important this year at SXSWi …
We are also hearing that there is a great clamoring for writers in this online world of the future. Everyone wants good writers, few can find them. It’s sort of like there are shoppers streaming into the market, but nary an item to buy.
Maybe next year I will have the opportunity to attend SXSW, and then I can meet these markets clamoring for writers. Actually, I’m going to seek them out now.
Perhaps, more importantly, as a tech savvy writer, I have the power to publish and develop my audience in the ways I see fit. I can find out exactly what works and doesn’t work on my own terms. Explicating the impact technology has on daily life via my blog is just one example.
