From paperback to paperless (again?)

Content and services: what’s new In order to adequately take into account the role and the potential of digital content and services we need to consider first of all the effects of the so called “digital revolution”. What is the role and what are the effects of the digital revolution? Which opportunities and threats are associated with digital information? In the present context, the term digital information is better than electronic information because it more accurately captures the essential aspects of the topic. From an ontological point of view, we are dealing with a new class of “objects”. Copies are clones equal to the “originals”, duplication cost is almost nothing, transmission and dissemination costs are almost zero and . . . no more physical barriers and customs, everything freely flows through the Internet. The concept of ownership of the original becomes meaningless; in the digital world access means ownership, intellectual property and copyright are reshaped. It is not surprising that digital information and its related technologies have the potential to make a huge impact on culture and society. In addition, to ignite the innovation process one of the most significant changes to occur in the field of information technology over the last few decades has been the implementation of real-time communication and information exchange between computers: networking. A computer was originally considered to be Leibniz’s “monad”, an ultimate atom without windows and doors; a sealed entity. Intercommunication processes activated external access to these monads, allowing information and data exchange between them and thus multiplying their added value; networks of computers possess expanded functionalities and services. A number of different standalone proprietary networks were gradually merged into the network of networks: the Internet. The Internet, the de facto implementation of global networking has revolutionized the worlds of computing and communications like nothing before. The incredibly fast growth of the Internet boosted the revolution and now we must consider Internet as a pillar even in social communication. This means that access to such a relevant infrastructure becomes a key point.