Publishers, Please Step Into the Future

I've heard plenty of rumblings about Google's plan to digitize books, and many have been negative- much like all of the hubbub over Napster's initial splash.

Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but the music industry eventually had to concede that the Napster dude was pretty smart, and that there was money to be had by all. Conventional record sales? No, but sales none-the-less. What does that equal?
Napster is now a legitimate business. Suck eggs, Lars Ulrich!

But I digress-

It seems to me, that the Publishing Industry is facing a similar crisis of faith with Google's idea to digitize libraries. This idea of Publishers "opting in" is a little crazy to me, and after reading this article, I feel vindicated in my stance.

Also, Chris Anderson has some damn interesting notes about niche markets which can be found here.

Please do read those articles, they are far more enlightening than my rushed ramblings.

Thanks to decryption for the links!