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Fireworks early on at “Devices & Desires”

It was a familiar pattern on Friday morning at the “Devices & Desires” conference: some very broad-brush warnings about the need to keep up with the way the Internet is changing everything, followed by some reflexive skepticism from publishing types.

Keynote speaker Alexander Manu discussed the way the self-publishing site Lulu.com, blogs, YouTube, and social networking sites are allowing more creators to find audiences, and argued that publishers need to come to terms with and adapt to “Web 2.0.” As to how they could do that specifically, that was largely left to later speakers; in general, Manu mainly urged attendees to break out of their familiar practices and innovate.

It was an argument publishers had heard before, and their counter-arguments were likely ones that Manu has heard before. Broadcaster Mary Lou Finlay responded to Manu’s speech by reaffirming the “gatekeeper” function of the publishing industry – “I want you to make the selections for me,” she said to the crowd – and decried “the underlying narcissism” of the explosion of user-generated online content. And during question period, Gavin Will, president of Newfoundland’s Boulder Publications, said, “It’s getting a little tiresome, hearing about our imminent demise if we don’t jump on whatever train you think we should jump on board…. I don’t even get your presentation.”

Not everyone sided against Manu, though. Another questioner did remind the crowd that whether they approve of Web 2.0 or not, it’s out there and it’s having an effect. “On one level the discussion is irrelevant, but we have these people [in control] operating from habit and arguing.”

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