What a difference a day makes. When I posted about the Google settlement last night, things were looking pretty grim. Now, we have an extension on the deadline to opt out, and the Justice Department is opening an antitrust inquiry into the matter. Of course, this doesn't mean that they will necessarily block the settlement, but we can hope.
And maybe do more than hope. We have time now to take action, and give voice to our interests. Speaking of which, this line from the NYT report bothers me:
Wait, what? The authors? Which ones, cuz that ain't me, bub. And this, perhaps, is the crux of the problem we face. Ironically, we, whose stock in trade is communication, seem to have no voice in public discourse. There are plenty of people running around pretending to speak for authors. But who actually listens to anything an author has to say, outside of the pages of a book? (More on that tomorrow.)
Part of the problem is that we are such a diverse group that our interests are not identical. As has been proven, various organizations established ostensibly to protect author interests may be corrupt, or have an agenda all authors do not agree with, or be inept, or even simply be out of touch with the times. It seems an open question whether an organization can be devised that empowers authors and gives us a voice in the decisions that affect our trade.
But many of us do live in democracies and as individuals have the right to free speech, so let's use that, at least. And Twitter. Don't forget about Twitter. Tags for the google settlement include #gbs and #optout, btw.
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