An obituary for the
(traditional and
independent)
publishing industry?
Sander Spek
MICC Promovendi Day 2008

A centuries-old practice
Photo by Essolo (CC-BY-SA)

“Ha, ha, your medium is dying”

What is changing?
Two case studies.
Wikipedia
Embedded publishing

Firstly,
What is
different?

Secondly,
What are the
consequences?

Wikipedia
That convenient
website some some
information on
about anything

Wikipedia
Written by amateurs.
Knowledge optional,
credentials discouraged.
Yet, it challenges a tradition of
well-respected (and well-
paid) Brittanica editors.

Boohoohoo!
Boohoohoo!
Andrew Keen, The Cult of the Amateur (2007)

toothpastefordinner.com

Wikipedia’s track record
English (Oct 2006)
> 1.4 Million articles
> 800.000 new articles a day
Dutch
> 500.000 articles (last week)
Studies by a.o. c’t Magazine and Nature

“Minister Plasterk van Onderwijs wil
nog deze kabinetsperiode digitale
schoolboeken invoeren. Onder de
naam \"Wikiwijs\" introduceert hij een
Wikipedia-achtig project, waarmee
leraren op internet hun eigen
lesmateriaal ontwikkelen.” (NOS)

Embedded publishers?
Organisations and professionals who
publish on a frequent basis and a
significant scale...

Embedded publishers?
Organisations and professionals who
publish on a frequent basis and a
significant scale...
...but who don't do so for the publishing
itself. It is merely to support other, core
goals.

Business goals

Political goals

Safety

Science

Or higher goals

Publishing has become
cheaper and more accessible.

Motives

Motives
First of all:
Because now they can.

Motives
Secondly:
Dissatisfied with
existing media.

Unhappy customers
Unfair business model
(FirstMonday)
Coverage of our organisation
(PSV)
Coverage in general
(Tiberghien)

Also satisfied customers
Extra communication channel
(UNIZO)
Media-bait
(Van Rompuy)

Characteristics
Control-
driven

Characteristics
Stake-
driven

Characteristics
Instrumental

Characteristics
Freedom
of format

Characteristics
Refuge
for talent

Characteristics
Incremental
growth

Impact

Impact
Blending
categories

Impact
Information
overload

Impact
Wide audience
adoption

Impact
New
consumption
logic

Future
Unclear. Strong drivers,
good outlooks, but it's still early.
Still, news media should respond.

Reaction patterns
1. Counter
2. Allow-In
3. Collaborate
4. Facilitate
5. Service

Conclusions
New publishing formats
Old ones are struggling
Some might not survive

Maybe not yet.