The Future of Publishing (2009)

MUTANT DESIGN: THE FUTURE OF “PUBLICATIONS”

But first, what does“publication” mean?

Is it just magazines, books, and newspapers?Images, text, video?Is it one-to-many writings?Is there such a thing called privications?If it is all of the above, what isn’t publishing?


wikipedia:

“To publish is to make content publicly known. The word publication means the act of publishing, and it also means any writing of which copies are published, and any website.”


oxford english dictionary:

Publication1. a. The action of making something publicly known; public notification or an-nouncement; an instance of this.b. Law. Notification or communication to a third party or to a limited number of people regarded as representative of the public; an instance of this; spec. (a) execu-tion of a will before witnesses; (b) communication of defamatory words to a person or persons other than the person or organization defamed. Cf. PUBLISH v. 1b and 1c.

2. a. The issuing of a book, newspaper, magazine, or other printed matter for pub-lic sale or distribution; the action of making material publicly accessible or avail-able in electronic form; an instance of this.b. A published work; a book, newspaper, etc., produced and issued for public sale or distribution; a text made publicly accessible or available in electronic form.


our thesis:

As in the past, so it is today that shifts in technology (including media), knowledge, economics, form, and conceptual change, leap frog one another to producing expansive change.


>technology changes < concepts change > knowl-edge changes > < form changes<economics > change >distribution changes>technology chang-es < concepts change > knowledge changes > < form changes<economics > change >distribution changes>technology changes < concepts change > knowledge changes > < form changes<economics > change >distribution changes>technology chang-es < concepts change > knowledge changes > < form changes<economics > change >distribution changes>technology changes < concepts change >


a question:

When we say we are making something “new” what do we mean? In the name ofwhat, for whom, and why are we making something “new”?


areas of publishing. no longer media or a specic form, but based on use:

1. Entertainment2. Storytelling3. Information4? Editorial/Opinon


the publishing process:

0. Outside Influences - Changes in social/cutural circumstances (ex. move to social medias) - economic influences/models

1. Content - how has writing/editing/producing changed?

2. Media - what media(s) is it (the substrate)? - what form does it take within that media -typographic, visual, layout 3. Reading - how do we read differently?


New Tools for Making and DistributionNew Typography (visual organization of thought and meaning)

New “Writing” New PublishingNew Economic ModelsNew Contexts/Ecologies


New Tools for Making and DistributionNew Typography (visual organization of thought and meaning)

New “Writing” New PublishingNew Economic modelsNew Context/Ecologies


ESPRESSO BOOK MACHINENEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES > NEW PUBLISHING

What’s changed? The Printer/Binder/Finisher

How has it changed? Espresso can print entire books from database

INDESIGN/INCOPYNEW TOOLS < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? The typewriter/ the word processor

How? multi-platform publishing does-it-all

BEYOND THE FOLD / SEBASTIEN BETTENCOURTNEW TOOLS < > NEW CONTEXT/ECOLOGIES

What? the Newspaper

How? Reimagined: newspaper gestures plus interface design

ROADMAP & PAY-PER-PLAYER / BEN FRYNEW TOOLS < > NEW “WrITING” > NEW PUBLISHING

What? infographics

How? more interactive and dynamically-changing

POSTER WALL / LUSTNEW TOOLS > NEW PUBLISHING

What? the Town Crier / Headline News

How? databases and scripting creates new posters dynamically

Why? exploration of technologies create interesting points of contact

ESQUIRE E-INK COVERNEW TOOLS

What? the Magazine Cover

How? utilizes e-ink technology to animate its cover

WE FEEL FINE / JONaTHaN HarrIS & SEP KaMvarNEW TOOLS > NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES

What? the reader survey

How? survey the entire internet’s feelings on the fly

AMAZON KINDLENEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES

What? the Newspaper/ the Book

How? from single use to all-in-one

E-books (put as page followingthe Kindle)

E-BOOKS NEW TOOLS < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? The Book

How? Goes digital

LIVEBOOKSNEW TOOL < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? Photographer’s Portfolio

How? Online, updatable, no programming skills required

WORDPRESSNEW TOOL < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? the Journal/Notebook

How? public, shareable, linakable, commentable

INDEXHIBIT (INDXR / CARGO)NEW TOOLS < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? The Designer Portfolio

How? Online, easy-to-update portfolio without programming skills

New Tools for making and DistributionNew Typography (visual organization of thought and meaning)



TYPOGRAPHIC WORK / PETER CHONEW TYPOGRAPHY > NEW TOOLS < > NEW CONTEXTS

What?

How?

SEED MAGAZINENEW TYPOGRAPHY > NEW TOOLS < > NEW CONTEXTS

What? The Table of Contents

How? Adds tagging, zooming, connections in an environment

EXCHANGE / HOEFLER & FRERE-JONESNEW TYPOGRAPHY > NEW WrITING

What? family of typefaces

How? expanded family of typefaces that work together to be used for various types of information




“I lay in bed and thought wondrously how, amid the alienation and indifference of the harsh Israeli reality, such islands — stubborn little bubbles of care, tenderness and humanity — still exist.”

– David Grossman

POETS AS JOURNALISTSHA’ARETZ, ISRAELI DAILY NEWSPAPERNEW WRITING > NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES

What? Guest Writers

How? Hire novelists and poets to write the news

IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS & PERSONAL... / LEANNE SHAPTONNEW “WRITING“ > NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES

What? The novel

How? Written from the format of an auction catalog

MUSIC GENRES TABLE / SECOND STORYNEW PUBLISHING < > NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES >NEW “WrITING”

What? Museum Narratives

How? Let the viewer decide the purpose and what story to be told

DIGITAL JOURNALISM CLASSNEW WRITING > NEW PUBLISHING

What? Journalists

How? No longer just writers, but videographers, tweeters, and designers

COMMENTPRESS / FUTURE OF THE BOOKNEW WRITING > NEW TOOLS

What? Editing Process

How? multi-collaborative, open, and in real-time

PEFECT UNION / ANDREW SLOATNEW “WRITING” > NEW PUBLISHING

What? short form essay

How? no longer written—visualized and filmed

GAMER THEORY WEBSITENEW WRITING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? Narrative Chapters

How? broken up into smaller pieces and served dynamically




TRIPLECANOPYNEW PUBLISHING

What? Arts Journal

How? Online, Interactive, Multi-media and connected

BLIP.FMNEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS

What? The Playlist

How? Share it, see other’s, add video and music together

NEWS IN THE ENVIRONMENTNEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS > NEW TYPOGraPHY

What? Sidewalk news stand

How? moving content into the environment

Curious connections presented herein and online for curious readerssixmagazine.org | for your, for free

Gibson Flying V

100mpg X Prize

6.1Metal Moderne

Gibson collides music and modernism with the radical Flying V in 1958

6.3Difficult, But Possible

The Whole Earth Catalog was like Google. In 1968.

6.5$100,000 per Gallon

111 teams compete for the $10 million race for a 100mpg automobile

6.2Call Me Trimtab

Was Bucky Fuller really more practical than Mr. Spacely?

6.4Juice It!

Maybe GM was just ahead of its time with the XP-883?RIP the electric car

6.6SpaceShip Won

To outerspace and back again... twice!

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Throughout his life, Buckminster Fuller was concerned with the question “Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?” Consider-ing himself an average individual without special monetary means or academic degree, he chose to devote his life to this question, trying to identify what he, as an individual, could do to improve humanity’s condition, which large organizations, governments, and private enterprises inherently could not do.

6.2

Call Me Trimtab

Page 02

PUBLICATION PROJECT / CHRIS MORABITONEW PUBLISHING

What?

How?

TWITTER POETRY NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW WrITING

What? Poetry

How? Using Twitter’s character limit to create constraints for writers

“Ongoing death of love, polite icicles cast out, break shell thin feelings”

– bearpupuk

ART IN GENERAL BOOK SERIES / PROJECT PROJECTSNEW PUBLISHING > NEW ECONOMIES

What? Small quantity book publishing

How? Print On Demand/Just-in-time publishing

Delicio.us (create your own TOC)

DELICIO.USNEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW TOOLS

What? Bookmarking/recommending

How? Becomes social, interactive, and viral

ISSUU.COMNEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS > NEW ECONOMIES

What? Magazine Stand/Publisher

How? Create places for people to discuss (and buy) publications, help self-publishers

VARIOUS INITIATIVES / WINTERHOUSENEW PUBLISHING

What? Content producers

How? Become publishers and media moguls


New “Writing” New PublishingNew Economic ModelsNew Context/Ecologies


FREE!NEW ECONOMIES < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? Make it free

How? reduce the cost to almost nothing; find other ways to make money off a free service to the public

WWW.SPOT.USNEW ECONOMIES < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? Community/local news journalism

How? community-supported payment to hear about stories they want to know about.


New “Writing” New PublishingNew Economic modelsNew Contexts/Ecologies


CNN T-SHIRTS / BARBARIAN GROUPNEW CONTEXT/ECOLOGIES > NEW ECONOMIES

What? the salacious headline

How? moves from the top of the broadsheet to the front of a t-shirt

CURRENT TVNEW CONTEXT/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING

What? The Television network

How? the network is one website, channels are categories within site

MAKE MAGAZINE, E-MAG, TV, WEBSITE, & STORENEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES

What? The “magazine”

How? Omni-media “magazines” based in content, not media

GOOD MAGAZINE, WEBSITE, & BROADSIDESNEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES



DIY DESIGN / CREATE YOUR OWNNEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW ECONOMIES



NEW YORK TIMESNEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES



TIME MAGAZINENEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW “WrITING”

What? The news magazine

How? Adapting to changing climates, adopting web-like conventions;maxmizing space used

HISTORY/CONTEXT: PRINTING PRESS NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES



HISTORY/CONTEXT: CODEX BOOKS (CODICES) NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES



HISTORY/CONTEXT: PAPER TIGER NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES < > NEW PUBLISHING < > NEW TOOLS < > NEW ECONOMIES



HISTORY/CONTEXT: BROADSIDES NEW PUBLISHING > NEW TOOLS



HISTORY/CONTEXT: INDEX/TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NEW TYPOGraPHY



HISTORY/CONTEXT: WHOLE EARTH CATALOG NEW “WrITING” < > NEW CONTEXTS/ECOLOGIES > NEW ECONOMIES




So...where does this leave the future of “publishing?”



With a lot of questions.


many questions, no simple answers:

Envisioning1. what are apt metaphors to discuss when envisioning publishing’s future?2. how do you make meaningful experiences with publications?3. what is the signature/brand for publishers in a multimedia environment?4. who do you trust with editorial/opinions?5. what’s next for publishing and how can it be used relevantly?6. how does “professional” content work alongside “user-generated” content?7. how do you pay for all that?
