Paulo Coelho @ Campus Party Conference

Paulo Coelho @ Campus Party Conference (22 August 2012).

In the beginning was The Word. How the word is communicated is determined by the technology of the day: clay tablets, papyrus, paper, scroll, codex. The arrival of the printing press meant the word could be distributed on an industrial scale.

Each new technology is disruptive. The monks who wrote by hand, would have gone OMG, now everyone who can read can read The Bible, who is there to interpret if for them?

Music has seen the same disruptive technology: Sheet music, the gramophone, radio. Music Halls complained at the introduction of sheet music.

Now we have the internet. Publishers, record companies shriek in pain.

For the composer, the writer, each change brings their work to a wider audience. Internet facilitates sharing.

We always have had sharing. The monks copied what was laid before them, we can copy pages of a book, a CD. Copying tended to be one to one, now with the internet we have one to many, many to many.

Campus Party 2012: Think Big, Follow Your Dreams.

An example of the new media in action: The Way of The Bow, a mediatation on archery, was made available earlier this year as free download as an e-book on frostwire. It is now available as an audio book free download on bandcamp.

Bandcamp is a site that makes listening, sharing and downloading easy.

It is always better to work with the internet not against, treat it as friend not foe.

• Campus Party – Las Vegas for techies

Tags: Paulo Coelho