“We’ve gotten a taste of what digital makes possible, and we’re just not getting there fast enough.”
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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As defined by Tom Goodwin, “mid-digital” is the period when technology is just confusing and annoying and before things get really amazing.
Speaking on Monday in London at the Quantum Conference, ahead of the London Book Fair opening the next day, the author of Digital Darwinism: Survival of the Fittest in the Age of Business Disruption and head of innovation at Zenith Media described a technology-based “disappointment gap” that currently frustrates consumers and creators alike.
“Anyone with Alexa or a Google Home assistant can relate I am sure,” says Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer.
“In the pre-digital age, things just worked, right? Like print books —you opened one and you just read. You didn’t talk to light switches—you just flicked them. Not awe-inspiring, but that worked.
“So far, though, technology has only given us a glimpse of what’s possible,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “What we have is disappointment gap, Goodwin noted, because while technology moves fast, expectations move faster.
“I think that pretty much captures how a lot of us here at the London Book Fair are feeling about the publishing business this year,” Albanese concludes. “We’ve gotten a taste of what digital makes possible, and we’re just not getting there fast enough.”
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
