Welcome

...to The End of Control.

Instead of publishing these essays in a traditional form (i.e., as a print product), I have decided to try something new and offer The End of Control online, for free, with a new chapter released every week. I may ultimately still offer a “real” printed version, but for now, this is my next book — just subscribe to the RSS feed and get my latest “chapter” as soon as I publish it. Or listen to the podcasts or watch the videos (coming soon).

Some smart people have already coined the term for this: “blook,” an amalgamation of blog and book. Wikipedia has formalized this term; the UK Guardian has a good read on it, too: “Blooks are the new books — a hybrid literary form at the cutting edge of both literature and technology.”  That is exactly how I feel, so now I am a Blooker, I guess?

So why am I doing this? Although my first book, The Future of Music (co-written with Berklee College’s Dave Kusek), was quite successful and is still selling well (with translations into German, Italian, and Japanese), I have come to realize that the benefits of publishing a book in the traditional way are not as important to me as the benefits of publishing my work in a much faster, interactive, non-linear, and multimedia form. While I have to admit that I still love “real” books (and actually buy lots of them), I also love RSS feeds, email, Google Reader, iGoogle, and Netvibes. And I love my iPhone and my Motion Tablet PC. And still, there is nothing better than staying in bed and reading a nice book, so maybe one of these days you’ll be able to get a printed copy of The End of Control as well.

The kind of information I can get from an RSS feed (and believe me, my Google Reader is stuffed to the brim with 500-plus feeds) is totally different from what I get from reading “real” books, and I believe that both have their own merits.  It’s just that with The End of Control I think am much better off to instantly reach the RSS/email/iGoogle audience right here, right now, through any means they want to employ. And this will soon include video as well.

I guess I prefer ubiquity over scarcity, and I certainly prefer the results of viral reach and having a crack at thought-leading versus shooting for the relatively modest financial benefits that may be achieved through a printed product. In other words, generating a few bucks by selling a printed copy of this book will very likely pale in comparison to the downstream monetary benefits of immediately publishing stuff that has real impact.  But who knows — eventually this logic could flip!

So here is my pledge to you, my future readers (or shall I say, RSS subscribers):

• I will publish only the best, the finalized, the truly “ready” stuff. Unlike the usual off-the-cuff style of blog publishing that you can find exemplified on my very own MediaFuturist blog, these postings will not be quickies; they will have real meat and will be carefully edited. In other words, they will be book chapters.
• I will publish at least once a week (with very few exceptions), probably every Monday.
• I will respond quickly to your comments and contributions.

All my content will be published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license, so feel free to use, re-use, edit, and morph! (Simply credit me, Gerd Leonhard, and include a link to www.endofcontrol.com.)

So, thanks again for dropping by, and I hope you enjoy The End of Control.

Gerd Leonhard

October 1, 2007

• Read the book announcement (PDF)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

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Comments

[Sylvie Krstulovic]

I am more than curious to start reading the first chapter...

Congratulations!

[Steve Nelson]

Congratulations Gerd! As always... a very thought provoking figure in digital media.

Can't wait to see your views on the next stage of digital distribution.

All the best
Steve

[Wim Reijnen]

As always, this will be a MUST read. I'm looking forward to many more chapters.

[Florin Grozea (Hi-Q)]

Now that is good news! I will subscribe for your Blook, I am a fan of your work since I read 'Future of music'!

[Claudio]

Hi - I came to your page from the link at your www.kyte.tv-Channel. It's great and I like listening to it!
Did you know that you can also embed your kyte-TV-Channel into you website? It's very easy: simply klick on the "Embed this channel" link below your TV-Channel and copy the code.

Have a good time and see you on kyte!

Greetings. Claudio.

[Olivier Rosset]

Thanx Gerd ! Great reading !
Cheers,O.

[Jeff]

great ideas and observations.

I'm curious though.

Why would a "futurist" who argues about control shifting from producer to consumer would allow his "free" book chapters to expire from the RSS feed?

Do you really meant I have to keep coming back to YOUR site to read YOUR book on YOUR terms?

Why can't it be liberated and neatly arranged in my feed reader for me to read in order when and how I want?

[Gerd Leonhard]

Jeff, I have no idea why this isn't working --- so, no intention here to do any of what you are implying. Will get this fixed! Thanks Gerd

[angelique van engelen]

All very interesting, but how exactly is publishing this book online 'as-and-when' more interesting to you from an economic point of view? I can't read the pdfs because my acrobat is messed up and I don't get any clear idea from your blog either. I like the book though but am curious to find out your economic model, for an article I am writing about this topic. (published on www.blog.contentclix.com and blog.reportwitters.com and on www.digitaljournal.com)
Cherio,
Angelique