Technology has changed the world we live in. I know, we read and hear that all the time but what does it really mean? Well, Friday was Know More Media’s two-year anniversary and I have been thinking about how several years ago, jobs like mine – associate editor for an online publisher and professional blogger – did not exist.

The publishing industry has evolved into a living breathing organism, where writers have the unique opportunity to be more independent than ever before. In the traditional world of book publishing the hierarchy was such that writers had to first find an agent and then shop publishers.  Journalists would search for freelance opportunities with newspapers and magazines, to land a beat at the local paper or become a feature writer. Things were going great if a journalist was able to make a suitable living as a freelance writer and parlay a love for news and writing into a lucrative career.

Enter the world of online publishing and blog networks like Know More Media. While the goal of this network may be to employ topical business experts, the fact remains that they must also to some extent be writers as well. They must understand news values or at the very least understand that they must be well informed in their topic of supposed expertise.

When I first joined Know More Media in August of 2006, I was immediately impressed with the quality of the content, which has continued to improve over the last year and a half. As the company has gained a reputation for quality and for having a great team to work with, we have likewise received some impressive applications in response to our call for new authors. Most recently, we have hired many authors who were already professional bloggers or freelance writers. This means they understand the importance of networking, the tone of a blog and most likely are connected in the blogosphere.

Perhaps most exciting is the opportunity we – Know More Media, other blog networks, and respective authors – have to shape the future of mass media and make it better. As a journalist, I have always believed that part of what makes media so important are the many voices, opinions and sources of news and information. While the advent of online publishing may create additional “niose” in the sense that more people have an avenue to express themselves, I believe that the truly talented and well informed voices will cut through and rise to the top. People who would have never become an opinion leader otherwise, now have a platform from which to speak and influence society. Are they up for the challenge?