Quote:
Originally Posted by stonetools
The point is the same for the independent authors. If Indie writers and writers in general cant make money through the Internet, eventually they'll just stop publishing. We may simply be leaving thjrough an age of TEMPORARY abundance- that will last until writers just stop writing.
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I agree that there is a distinct possibility of this happening. I don't think all writers will stop writing... but I could see output could drop so low, and essentially most of what will be left will be non-commercial, non-edited, that there will be a decreasingly small market for any of it, and writing could eventually, effectively disappear.
This may happen, albeit temporarily; but I also believe that a new model of monetizing digital media will be developed, probably a very different method from the print-based model, and taking advantage of technological tools that have yet to be developed and/or implemented (mostly related to better document security and user identity).
The web was designed in a state that was inadequate for monetizing digital media. I don't expect it to stay that way, because it is incredibly insecure, leaving companies, governments and consumers open to attack and loss. Eventually consumers, governments and commercial entities will all finally agree on a need for a better, more secure and accountable system to benefit all parties.
The fate of all digital media will improve at that point, bringing a balance to the abundance economy that works for all parties, giving free rides to none.