Blockchain, il Futuro dei Media? – Tombolini & Associati from Stefano Tombolini
Un celebre detto afferma che, quando il dito indica la luna, il saggio guarda la luna e lo stolto il dito. Con tutto il rispetto per i detti tradizionali, a volte è comunque interessante guardare il dito, specie se indica nella direzione sbagliata.
Il dito in questione è un lapidario editoriale di Francesco Giubilei su cultora, dal titolo definitivo: Una pietra tombale sugli ebook, il futuro del libro è di carta. Prima di entrare nello specifico di questo pezzo, vediamo i dati dell’ultimo rapporto dell’Associazione italiana editori (si trovano qui, pagina 12). Bene, dopo anni di crescita tumultuosa a due cifre, il 2017 ha visto il valore del mercato ebook crescere solo del 2 per cento.
Books, like any other human artifact, aren’t static objects. They evolve, change and adapt themselves, according to the needs and habits of people who use them: they fit into our lives and our worlds. As with any other human-made object, this is not a straightforward process, but one of action and response, where the emergence of a new technology to satisfy existent needs is always producing new needs and new adaptations, which in turn make room for new technological innovation. The printed book is a typical example of this feedback cycle: probably, when Gutenberg perfected the invention, he thought that he was just going to be able to churn out more books at a lower price, and that they would be very similar to the old ones. He couldn’t know that the printing press would be the engine that powered the Protestant Reformation and ultimately produced the eras of Rationalism, Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution.
In its white paper Authors and the Blockchain, the Alliance of Independent Authors is hoping a “Self-Publishing 3.0” revolution will bring an author-centered financial model for the first time in publishing history.
Is it an informed and realistic assessment of the possible impact of blockchain technology?
A critical review by Stefano Tombolini, blockchain analyst and WordPress implementer at Tombolini & Associati.