This is about the publishing industry:
The vast and complex problems in the publishing industry could be alleviated if publishers started focusing on choosers. Choosers are people who enable choice through social influence and other factors. In the case of reading, a chooser can be a reader, writer, critic/reviewer or editor.
We’re finally at a point where the tools are cheap and robust enough to enable choosing. Publishers should allocate their resources into building platforms for choosers to comfortably operate and thrive. Once you build this, readers will follow, and with that, sales.
The progressive talk I hear about branding, epub converting and even humanizing the digital reading experience — all that should take a back seat to choosers. This means that publishers have to be willing to cede control over the space they’re so used to dominating, which for big publishers may not be easy or even possible.
The role of editors in a chooser-centric publishing environment also changes. Editors become stewards and facilitators of the platform, working with a technical team to ensure an excellent user experience. They also identify opportunities to create channels for readers to connect with like-minded readers and authors to connect with fans.
How do publishers make money? Well if the channel is in place and people are using it, everyone makes money. Writers get promoted organically. Readers become passionate and attached to the platform. Publishers enable the platform. the only missing link is whether or not Amazon and Apple would see the value of this platform and allow it to be integrated into their devices.