Thesis topic redefined

I've settled on a title for my thesis: The Dynamics of Internet Publishing. In it I cover the different forms of internet publishing including blog networks, ebooks, online books, online magazines, and other forms of online content. I analyze the disruptive force of internet publishing to traditional publishing, new opportunities internet publishing offers, and challenges internet publishers face.

Originally, I had a completely different topic for my thesis. Since I was going to write something that was close to book length, I thought I'd try to turn my thesis into a book. This way I could get paid for writing my thesis. I had come up with a topic I felt was publishable and got a well-known publisher to sign it. They were going to give me a nice advance and we were all set.

However, as I started to write, I lost interest. Yes, I was going to be paid for it, but I didn't want my MIT thesis to be on a topic that I wasn't passionate about (anymore). So I scraped the original book project in favor of a new topic that I am passionate about, namely internet publishing. I'm not going to approach a publisher about publishing this as a book. Instead, I'm going to self-publish it after I'm done (probably this summer). I figure this is a great way to cap off a thesis on internet publishing: i.e., self-publish it via the internet.

Many of my friends and colleagues know I've been involved with the publishing industry since the late 1990s, but by the end of this year it should be apparent why I'm doing a thesis on internet publishing.