I just watched “The Family Guy” while procrastinating today’s blog post…
Toward the end of the show, Brian meets a young (bimbo) at a bar and his pick-up line is “I wrote a book.” She never looked up from her mobile and replied, “what’s that?” Brian tried to describe it “like a long magazine.” Still not looking, “Huh?” The exchange ends with Brian defining a book as “like the Internet made out of a tree.”
LMAO
But to take it seriously for a moment, is it really funny? Speaking as a publishing industry professional in job search, probably not. And while the line was probably not meant to spark more than a laugh about generational differences it does get me thinking. Here we are, at the end of the year, and the decade, predictions abound, how many years before the paper and ink format for a book is considered “old-fashioned.”
And on the flip side I’m glad it is the digital version of books (the avenues of their creation and how to market them) that really interests me these days.
This post reminds me of a conversation I had with my grandparents. Gosh, it must have been back in 1979 or 80. My parents were lamenting that computers were "taking over" and putting people out of work. Of course computers did replace many formerly manual jobs but the also opened up an entire world and countless new industries and careers.
Print media is clearly going through a similar evolution. While it is a frightening process, in the end it will open up new opportunities for those who aren't afraid to find them.
Also, our national forests probably won't mind too much.