The world is changing

My new favorite blog is WorldChanging, via my other favorite blog Boing Boing.

WorldChanging's 40+ writers cover all kinds of cultural, technological, political, media & design topics, from DIY culture and micro-market long-tail theory, to green architecture and marketing, to new wowees like 3-D printing. YUM!

Of particular interest (at the moment) is a short report on a recent talk by Wired editor and The Long Tail author Chris Anderson called "What Happens When Things Get Free." A summary of their summary, basically: "Scarcity is about paternalism, a decision that an editor knows what's best. Abundance is about egalitarianism. Scarcity is top-down, abundance is bottom-up. Instead of command and control, it's out of control."

Mmm hmm. 'Xactly what DIYers have been arguing-by-doing & what getting-better-all-the-time POD with integrated distro can do for POETRY (and what Blogger & low-cost web hosting have already started flipping). Meaning No Tell Books (for instance) releases four new titles and they're instantly available all over the world, giving them further reach* than even books from the Ron-dubbed Gang of Six. (Yes, that does rock.)

& WorldChanging has just released a book, which is currently ranked in the double digits @ Amazon.

* In terms of number of countries in which the books are available for purchase, via the internet. And yes, of course, the availability of internet access across economic classes in all those countries is a factor in determining what "available" really means. And no, I am not comparing the presses' "support" budgets. Still!