a post-literate society

From Cat and Girl. (Click image to enlarge.)

Editors were once the gatekeepers for content; the advent of the internet has made not only gatekeepers but also gates a thing of the past. Will the book's loss of privilege and the rise of the internet result in a post-literate society, or a hyper-literate one? Is the internet another advancement that democratizes literacy, like the printing press and the paperback, or does it signal its demise? What will the editor's role be in the future?

I don't think we've found a more efficient way to exchange information than through text, nor do I think clarity and accuracy are less important now than in the book's heyday. Language is organic and English orthography has always been fluid. In my view, literacy is becoming more, not less, important.