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I'm not trying to apologise or defend the publishing houses. It's just that there is a reason that they exist. That they've grown too large and have tried to bamboozle the world on how indispensible they are has become rather self evident.
That said, *someone* needs to hold the reins. Whether it's some NYC house, which doesn't have anyone's good intentions in mind, or just the neighbourhood coffee clatch acts as the gatekeeper is up to us. There's just to much. We're drowning in dross and it's getting worse. The 'net is TOO efficient and it will kill the goose that lays the eggs if we allow the system to die because of the abuses of the past.
What Google is attempting is interesting because of the underlying reasoning. It's not to make money. Will Amazon be entrusted to replace a B&M system and still behave? Will Kobo/Kindle/Nook be strong enough to support a world without deadtree publishing and the deep pockets that once that represented? Is it enough that your words are read and not be a job? What happens when the iPod generation won't pay for a damn thing? The death of new works?
Are we living in the end of the age of golden times, culturally speaking?
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