RE: introduction to my AWP presentation on New Media

Feb 1, New York City:

"…some observations I made after arriving in New York from Seattle this week.

"Observation Number One: We need, in the world of publishing, to stop assuming that geeks and nerds are fringe concepts that don't apply to all of us. I do not fit the stereotype of a geek. I'm a 42-year-old stay-home parent with a BA in journalism and no IT background. I work out of my home office, which is painted in shades of purple. I grow culinary herbs, I do yoga, I go fishing for crab and eat oysters right off the local beach. I am not a geek. I am like you. I am you. There is no other here.

"Observation Number Two: I live on an island in the Puget Sound that's roughly the size of the one we're on right now [Manhattan]. But it's different there. Instead of tall buildings and lots of traffic we have tall trees and lots of wildlife. Everyday, rain or shine, I put on my little red hood and pack my laptop in my basket and I leave my little house in the big woods and walk half a mile to the nearest public place, where I effortlessly plug in my laptop and receive free wifi. So it makes me wonder, as I trudge the half mile here underneath the bright neon of Times Square, why it is that I feel like I need to fear the big bad wolf when I arrive at the Hilton to discover there ain't no such thing as free wi fi. But we live in a different time, back in the big woods. There, it's the 21st century.

"And finally, Observation Number Three: Folks in publishing seem to approach its electronic counterpart like tourists approach the NY subway. They're intimidated, but once they get the nerve up to take the train, they realize it's a lot easier, a lot safer, and much cheaper than they expected. It's time we got over our fear of the unknown, people. Allow me to welcome you to the electronic universe."