Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

In the past, songs, stories, and movies were traded illegally between groups of friends on the Internet.  Web analyst J.D. Lasica calls these small-scale clusters of file-sharing groups Darknets.  Many content producing companies spend thousands of dollars a year trying to subvert these small groups.  Earlier this year, the web developer,  Lucas Gonze wondered what would happen if content producers began to embrace the marketing and creative possibilities of file-sharing networks--creating an open, connected "Lightnet."

In a Lightnet world, content producers embrace the file-sharing tendencies of the Internet.  In this new Internet economy, writers have to go chasing after their audiences.  Just like musicians and filmmakers, writers can take advantage of file-sharing and self-promotion opportunities on the Internet.  In an interview, Gonze told me: "If a publisher wants to make an impact with a piece, it should do everything it can to enable all three of interactivity, interoperability, and interconnectivity." 

Following Gonze's lead, I advise all new writers to embrace the the Lightnet.  We are all struggling to find an audience on the Internet, and we need to remove restrictions on files--letting new readers play with our materials instead.  As long as I'm steering Publishing Spot, we will focus on writers, publishers, and applications that support the Lightnet.