As the year winds down to a close, this last Plugged/Unplugged for 2007 wishes you all Happy Holidays. As most of the industry takes the next week off, I hope everybody takes a few moments to relax, reflect on the year that’s passed, and prepare for the 12 months ahead.
In the scope of everything going on in the world – a war in Iraq, a climate crisis, a monumental election on the horizon – all this back-and-forth about a few digital bits seems pretty trivial. That said, this was a year of extraordinary change, experimentation and risk. Not as much experimentation and risk as I’d like to see, but I’m not betting my money on this stuff.
Looking forward, I expect more of the same. There are many pundits who feel the year ahead will be the make-or-break point for the industry — in which it either suddenly “gets it” and thrives or stumbles over its feet yet again and collapses completely.
That might make for some great copy, but I doubt either is the case. The public loves a good meltdown, a phenomenal fall from grace, an Enron-like implosion. Few issues generate the kind of sensational headlines, vitriolic blog chatter, or 360-degee criticism as the digital entertainment business.
But rarely does the hype meet the reality. My guess is next year will see a few major policy shifts for the better, technological quantum leaps, and breakout services that nobody saw coming. There also will be some colossal boneheaded moves, silly lawsuits, and well-intentioned flops. Bloggers will continue to call the labels tech-backwards fat-cats, labels will call file-traders amoral thieves, and publishers will continue to get blamed for everything.
In other words, life will go on.
Thanks for reading. See you next year.
