No one gets more excited about news over here at HOSSedia, than my mom…so this screen shot is really for her. However, I do have some exciting news to announce. Yup, I have a new publisher. I have officially joined the powerhouse eBook publisher Flatbooks.com. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. If you have read my about page, you know Trey Ratcliff has been listed there as one of my favorite photographers for the last 5 years. Being asked to bring my books to his publishing house, was like getting asked to go on tour with Led Zeppelin! I considered writing about my experience with Flatbooks today, which has been nothing but amazing, but I decided to do something a little different and try to articulate my feelings about the eBook publishing industry and its impact on the world.

It’s no secret that eBooks are changing the landscape of the publishing industry. There has been quite a bit written about it, but I don’t know if anyone has argued (at least is a formal way) that eBook publishers are going to make the world a better place. That being said, I decided to call upon a little epistemology and do my best to make the argument that eBook publishers (in this case Flatbooks.com) will indeed make the world a better place.

• First Premise (Mine) – If you visited the ‘about me’ link above, you know I believe that sharing the beauty of this world will make it a better place because art, whether it is visual or literary, transcends the boundaries that divide us and therefore brings us closer together. Which I think is a good thing.
• Second Premise (Chase Jarvis) – Chase Jarvis, another favorite photographer of mine, penned an inspiring article about the Create->Share->Sustain cycle. He argues that you not only need to create and share, but you also need to be able to sustain the Create->Share cycle.
• Third Premise (Trey Ratcliff) – As the founder of Flatbooks, Trey Ratcliff provided some interesting insight into the world of eBook publishing in his article ‘Why eBooks Will Be Much Bigger Than You Can Imagine‘. In short, eBook publishing is going to be a success (I would argue already is) largely because it operates at much larger profit margins and leverages a more robust ‘word of mouth’ advertising (i.e. social network).
• Conclusion – I think I should start this with ‘Therefore’…so….Therefore, because of a successful publishing industry that allows artist to sustain their Create->Share cycle, more artists are able to share the beauty of the wold that traditional publishers would ignore. Because we as artists are able to share more of the beauty of the world, the eBook publishing industry and the artists it supports will make the world a better place.

Seldom Seen Slim

Meet ‘Seldom Seen Slim‘…I was lucky to catch a glimpse of him. You know, because he is seldom seen. If you have followed the ‘Life @ 24 1.4′ adventure over at Google Plus, you know I am making my way through the Nevada Desert and headed to the middle of nowhere. I met Slim today on the start line of the Bonneville Salt Flats. He heads up course closures. He makes sure people like me aren’t driving on the course when cars are setting records at 462 mph. Feel free to follow on Google Plus, or check back tomorrow.