Education, privacy, democracy, copyright, media and commerce. The world around us is changing. Things we thought were going to stay the way they have been for a long time are mutating into something totally new. The culprit?

Digitalization.

Digitalization is changing every aspect of society. And yet, it seems there is no public discussion about what all this will mean for each and every one of us. Yes, some people are talking about what the future will bring. But they are mostly looking at a single industry or just a small part of society.

I am talking about a holistic view. Everything. The whole shebang.

I would have expected some politicians or business big-wigs to have something to say about all this by now. After all, we are already living in the future. 2008. TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT.

But no. They are still acting like it is business as usual. No one has stepped up and kick-started the public debate on the issues that we are going to face in just a couple of years. Actually, the music industry has been facing the issues for some time now.

I think there are two reasons for the silence:

1. They just don’t get it.
Things have been pretty much the same for a long time. Cars, electricity, tv, the telephone, all the major inventions have been in use for a long time. And the business and social models have been pretty musch set for some time now. And the people I am talking about have been handsomely rewarded for not changing for a long time.

Don Tapscott writes in his great book Wikinomics: “This is the first time in history when children are an authority on something really important.”

The kids and youngsters are the authority. They live digital. The old guys are still living in analog.

2. They are afraid.
Afraid of losing power. Money. Influence. You name it. Afraid of losing what they currently have. Because the smart ones do realize that there is a lot to lose.

Here is my New Years resolution: I am going to try to get the discussion started. Since I do not have any power or connections it might be a little difficult. Fortunately, I do have one or two digital aces up my sleeve.