July 3rd, 2009
“SF” stands for “strategic foresight”
Good news, everybody!
I’ve been accepted to the M.Des. program in Strategic Foresight and Innovation at the Ontario College of Art and Design. When I tried explaining the program to my mom, I said: “It’s about designing solutions for future problems on every level — from product to policy.”
One of the more contemporary problems being tackled by the Strategic Innovation Lab? Publishing.
I mention this because John Scalzi has an absolutely fantastic post on the subject, and Patrick Nielsen Hayden backs him up. I’ll let Mr. Scalzi tell you himself:
That the “big three” science fiction magazine won’t accept electronic submissions in this day and age isn’t merely anachronistic in both a business and social sense, it’s actually a bit embarrassing. Written science fiction already has enough problems working around the image that it is trapped in its own alternate universe branching off from 1971; the fact the major print publications of the genre deal with the electronic era as if it was something to be handled from a great distance, with tongs, isn’t helping any of us. The editors of the magazines are always talking about how they love seeing new writers, but I can’t help but think one of the reasons they have difficulty publishing new writers is that they’re showing up to the party in the communication equivalent of 70s powder blue polyester leisure suits and trying to assure the kids that seriously, they’re hip — why, they listen to that groovy cat Dan Folgelberg and everything. I mean, shit, guys. Meet 2009 half way, you know?
Damn, I can’t wait to get to class.
