A glimpse at the future of crowds This week my publisher sent me a box of hardcover copies of my soon-to-be-released book. As is my custom, I set aside one copy for each of my kids so that, years from now, they can hold this artifact in their hands -- a direct connection to an age that is disappearing before our eyes. Newspapers end their print editions, people download books into their phones, and magazines grow slimmer by the day. And yet information is now more readily and directly available than ever before.