A Thought About Digital Media

Fresh from attending the 2010 Mediabistro eBook Summit in New York City, I’m asking myself, what’s the takeaway?  I’m wondering if digital media is for me and if I can make good, positive, active use of it as a writer.  The summit was certainly informative.  Keynote speaker Douglas Rushkoff was particularly lively and insightful.  (I highly recommend his latest book Program or be Programmed: Ten Commandments for a Digital Age.)  I listened to panelists in love with technology, others who are leery of it (though still use it judiciously); people who believe that there’s room for everyone’s writing, others who insist that some of us should put our pens down; those who think there’s money to be made as writers and those who say don’t quit your day job.

Who should I listen to?  The answer is everyone.  Everyone’s experience with writing and publishing is different, and everyone’s experience is valid.  So, my takeaway on how to negotiate the new world of digital media is transition and adaptability.  I, like the rest of us, need to figure out where I fit into the equation so that I can use technology in a way that allows me to stay true to myself while finding new means to communicate with those who might be interested in what I have to say.  Many of the speakers and panelists today said the same thing.  They didn’t get into publishing to get rich, they got into it because they love it.  How much more affirmation do I need than that?