“Top Ten Tuesdays” — Please Welcome Ollin Morales. Ollin runs {Courage2Create}, one of the best writing blogs I’ve come across.
Maybe that opinion is an affinity thing, because he writes (like me) with passion and encouragement and (perhaps unlike me) unflagging positive energy. I encourage you to visit his site and get pumped for the writing life. By Ollin Morales Did you get the memo? Apparently, humanity has run out of new ideas. As Americans we’ve become inundated with sequels, and prequels, and sequels to prequels, and spin-offs, and remakes, and “reality shows” and it seems like today’s mainstream media is sending us a clear message: “Hey, we tried looking for them, but there’s not a single original idea out there to be found! First of all, a wrap IS a burrito that for some reason is filled with ham and cheese. Second of all, the truth is that there ARE tons of original ideas out there, ripe for our picking.
So, why do we keep getting the message that the world is running out of ideas and its running out of them fast? You know why? Yes. Apple’s bet on publishing. Apple’s upcoming subscription plan is making large publishing companies hysterical.
Rightfully so. Some of them built a complete business model for the iPad based on a commercial agreement that is now being revoked. Apple is not only changing the rules, but it does so in the worst possible way — in their usual cold My Way Or The Highway manner. But one of the most interesting aspects of the maddening change is the strategic thought behind Apple’s move. Let’s rewind the tape. When publishers began to create content applications for the iPhone and the iPad, they found the in-app purchase feature was the perfect monetization tool: one click on the “buy for $0.99″ button… another on “confirm”… Done. Weirdly enough, breaking its well-known controlling habit, Apple left open the possibility for the publisher to sell subscriptions directly to the reader.
In the treacherous transition to digital, retaining control over subscriptions is crucial. No kid gloves in Apple’s secretive world. Bam! Leave the libraries alone. You don’t understand their value. Blog Best-selling author Philip Pullman spoke to a packed meeting on 20 January 2011, called to defend Oxfordshire libraries.
He gave this inspirational speech, which we are very pleased to co-publish with openDemocracy. You don’t need me to give you the facts. Everyone here is aware of the situation. The government, in the Dickensian person of Mr Eric Pickles, has cut the money it gives to local government, and passed on the responsibility for making the savings to local authorities. Here in Oxfordshire we are threatened with the closure of 20 out of our 43 public libraries.
I don’t think we should accept his invitation. Nor do I think we should respond to the fatuous idea that libraries can stay open if they’re staffed by volunteers. “The council is hoping that the youth service, which is also going to lose 20 centres, will be staffed by volunteers. This is the Big Society, you see. But there’s a prize being dangled in front of these imaginary volunteers. Oh, but wait a minute.