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The main feature of the place we were talking about whose name is 'Frigoriferi Milanesi' (Fridges in Milan)
to sum up, in few words, is 'aggregation'
and today I'd like to talk about 'tagging on'
One year ago I wrote a little book- after twenty years of experience in the publishing field-
entitled 'Che fine faranno i libri?' (What will happen to books?)
and I was trying to guess what would have happened if hi-tech devices -such as iPad - had spread over
the core of this book in which I was trying to figure out what would have happened to typographers, book designers, translators...
what will happen to press agencies..
to make an analysis of all professionals involved in book publishing, those who work backstage...
dozens and dozens of skilled workers.
But..to me...time goes on and the book too...
in this field everything quickly becomes old..
However, it seems that the only thing that doesn't change and it's always worthwhile
...is the idea of 'tagging on'
because to me..both for newspapers and books a professional that will be more and more important in our future is the 'aggregator'
who are the 'aggregators'...they are people putting together different things, news and objects to be proposed to other people
to give an example..
I don't work on China...but I think that we should know about what's happening in China even if we have no professional interest in this matter
so..if I had an Italian man knowing my Italian mind-set, speaking Chinese and living in China and ...
who makes a report every 15-20 days to tell about the 5-6 major important events that happened in China
..about the most interesting book to be translated in order to let us know about it, giving a brief sum-up..
about the movie...the drama..some breaking events taken from local press in China...and so on..
So, if I had a reporter like this, who aggregates different news..
I would pay very well for this..
even if I don't work on this field..
So, to me the 'aggregator' is a professional performer we need and who will expand more and more
Thus, when I turn on the computer or the i-pad I find hundred of news...
and when, in the near future, anyone will be able to write novels to be uploaded
and as a consequence we'll have million online novels and we'll have the chance to enter every novel at the same time
both the novels of the past - thanks to Google that is computerizing all French national library
so we'll have all French heritage online in about 6 years
so, contemporaneously, everything people write in the future will be available without the contribution of publishing, trade, bookstores, etc..
So, how behaving?
because the problem is that our time doesn't change..time at our's disposal to read consists in no more than 7-8 hours in a week
some more hours if you are sleepless..but not much more..
It's obvious that we'll need someone who makes a selection for us
Until today, selection has been made by critics
the category of critics has lost reliability in the last years
They don't follow any criterias to say what is to read or not
They increasingly are ignorant people, and as we see in newspapers, they are more and more corrupt people...
in the sense that they speak highly of their friends or their publishing house only
So, they aren't reliable people..we can't say anymore 'I buy this book because that certain man suggested to do it...or said it's nice'
Now, it's no longer possible
and this problem will become more and more important in the next future and for this reason we'll need someone saying:
'Look..12 thousand novels are available online in France but among them I advice you to read this one..' giving the reasons of the choice..
so as to let you know if you like it..
So, this news selection and aggregation work consisting in reporting this wide range of information where we can get lost today and in the next future
so..this kind of job is of paramount importance, both from a social perspective and economic one since it will allow us not to waste our time
not to be swindled...not to read something senseless and valueless
and this role of aggregation will be fundamental.
So, I think that this job will be as important as that one to aggregate theatrical, musical and artistic events that we couldn't find otherwise
this form of aggregation will be more and more important
It's quite banal saying that the digital revolution, the web etc.. give us lots of chances...
it's a great revolution whose extent will be understood only in next few years
Anyway, it's an extraordinary expansion of possibilities at our disposal
However, at the same time, this huge growth doesn't solve a fundamental problem we have that is 'solitude'
We can stand in front of a computer for many hours to chat with friends living in the other side of the globe, on facebook,
establishing the most extraordinary and complicated relationships..
But this won't solve the problem consisting in 'being together'
and this is the reason why we'll need someone to aggregate people and let them stay together
this is the answer to another question we ask inside the publishing field that is:
''When everything will be for free, how will artists be able to earn money and live thanks to their job?' How will a writer do?'
Well, the experience of the music world has already given an answer in this field
Every effort to prevent people from downloading music for free has failed
The major music companies have tried to react by increasing prices but this answer turned out to be unsuccessful
deteriorating further the situation
However, it doesn't mean that music is dead
or that artists don't make money
it means that only the perspective has completely changed
While in the past an artist, or a group made an album and then in order to promote it he/they held some concerts
Now, we have the opposite situation...
and some avant-garde groups - such as the Subsonica- have got the revolution and have uploaded their album online
everyone can download it for free
and, this way, they promote theirselves
and since people appreciate it..they go to their concerts
Thus, concerts become sources of wealth and the album becomes promotion of your art
and, paradoxically, the same thing is happening to books
Just have on your's mind events such as the Mantova Festival
There are people waiting in line, paying a ticket to listen to their favorite writer
If a Martian came to earth and gave a report on what he had seen in Mantova, he would think that we are crazy
Actually, it's not true..many people need to listen to the voice of their writer, they need to interact with him
and they will pay for this
at the time of Ludovico Ariosto or Omero, copywrite didn't exist...
They didn't make money by selling books but going around and telling their stories...and by doing so they earned money
We'll probably get back to the past...and socialization will mean that writers will share their books online
and people will appreciate or not their novels and they will pay for listening to them and not to buy their books
people will pay to listen to them and to talk with them.
According to me, this will be one of the consequences of culture digitization. Thank you.