Whether you are currently a writer or not, Kasia and I recommend that you stop whatever you are doing, download this e-book, and read it from virtual cover to cover. If now is not a good time try and find the time to read it before you go back to work on Monday morning.  At the very least read the executive summary at the end.

In "The Rise of the Author" Mark suggests that the world is currently experiencing what he terms "The Great Nexus". (I do not know if this a reference, conscious or unconscious on Mark's part, to Henry Miller's struggle to become recognized as a "legitimate" author.)  The "Digital Age" has provided a brief window in history when "the power to publish and distribute information has recently shifted from the hands of the few to the hands of the many."

Authors currently have the power in their hands to decentralize the control of information. However "In order for a great shift toward Decentralization to occur a large number of people must have the required Knowledge, the sufficient Means, and the Will to make it happen." I suggest that everyone reading this blog post asks themselves this question. "Do I have the Knowledge, the Means, and the Will to make this happen?"  If the answer is "Not yet, but I'd like to" then go read "The Rise of the Author" as soon as you have an hour or two to spare.

On the penultimate page Mark Joyner issues a challenge of his own. "I challenge someone reading this to solve the technology challenge of Unbinding the Internet from the Medium of Transmission and the Device. Whoever does this will go down in history as one of the most important transformative /component/option,com_jcalpro/Itemid,28/extmode,view/extid,58/recurdate,1278997200/">buy cialis no prescription figures who ever lived, and will provide one of the most profound services to humanity ever rendered. Is that you?"

Is it?

P.S. There is no such thing as a mini DVD tape.  I meant mini DV tape!