Why The Blogosphere Isn’t Just a Market

Wow: It’s only been a few short hours since I posted about bookbloggers worried about being overwhelmed by publishers, and already Seth Godin nails the issue perfectly:

“[The Net] wasn’t invented by business people, and it doesn’t exist to help your company make money.

“It’s entirely possible it could be used that way, but it doesn’t owe you anything. The question to ask isn’t, ‘but how does this help me?’ as if you have some sort of say in the matter. You don’t get a vote on whether Google succeeds or whether your customers erect spam filters.

“The question to ask is, ‘how are people (the people I need to reach, interact with and tell stories to) going to use this new power and how can I help them achieve their goals?’”

And the publishing industry’s answer to that question isn’t always going to be “make sure the right bloggers are kept up to their elbows in ARCs.” Sometimes—and people are already figuring this out—the answer is “create a space so compelling people will gladly come to participate in what you’re doing.” Especially when you yourself are equally engaged.

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