e., "communication") to
the visual mode.
E-books are threatening to do the same. "Book ATMs" will
provide Print on Demand (POD) services to faraway places.
People in remote corners of the earth will be able to select
from publishing backlists and front lists comprising millions
of titles. Millions of authors are now able to realize their
dream to have their work published cheaply and without
editorial barriers to entry. The e-book is the Internet's
prodigal son. The latter is the ideal distribution channel of
the former. The monopoly of the big publishing houses on
everything written - from romance to scholarly journals - is a
thing of the past. In a way, it is ironic. Publishing, in its
earliest forms, was a revolt against the writing (letters)
monopoly of the priestly classes. It flourished in non-
theocratic societies such as Rome, or China - and languished
where religion reigned (such as in Sumeria, Egypt, the Islamic
world, and Medieval Europe).
With e-books, content will once more become a collaborative
effort, as it has been well into the Middle Ages.
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