Everyone, everywhere is pitching, touting, slithering or slaving over the eBook you never realised you needed.

You don’t.

What you need is an ally, a mentor, a coach, a guide. A reason. A way. A system, a process, a methodology, an inspiration.

A reward.

You can read a million books, and each will give you a temporary hit of adrenaline.

What’s the word in the last sentence that makes it all so infinitely futile?

Temporary.

What’s a freelancer to do? What’s the businesswoman fretting over her cooling latte going to seek solace in if she can’t rely on that mood boost from The Ultimate Guide To Being The Next Big Business (printed version coming soon!)?

People. Every time.

We’re all human (although sometimes, when I’m in conversation with certain SEOs, I beg to differ). We all have experiences. We respond, we react, we tailor, we help.

We personalise, we individualise, we tailor and we customise.

In my world (let’s call it Open Source Utopia) the information age has two strands:

• Repositories of static content – mined by everyone. Ever-expanding and moving with the times, these silos of well-curated information are wiki style, crowdsourced and facilitating practical execution of solutions in common situations.
• Virtual concierge for everything and everyone, in every walk of life. The real value add to every experience. Any misdemeanour, any obstacle, overcome with a voice and a solution to your own situation. Think of this as your fourth emergency service, but to be called upon whether the stakes or high or low, whether you’re in pain or seeking pleasure.

Both are on-demand, like your Netflix HD movies of today. Governments fund them. Religions no longer threaten humanity, and only engender cross-territorial harmony, since the solutions to everything are in black and white.

What’s not to love? And what here cannot be achieved through some innovative thinking? In her book Anywhere (How Global Connectivity Is Revolutionizing the Way We Do Business), smart cookie Emily Nagle Green asserts that we’re on the brink of total interconnectivity.

The virtual concierge element of Utopia gives us all a role to play. As bloggers and effective communicators we reach out to everyone, not just the techs and geeks who – let’s be honest – still form the majority in harnessing Internet 2010.

The rewards are obvious. Emotionally, physically, spiritually. The currency of compensation is in a greater quality of life – fulfillment.

It’s time for everyone to have the information they need, on tap.

Let’s not get carried away with my assertion that eBooks are all useless. There are exceptions. Digital resources for applications or services that manifest as operations manuals or first aid for users are fine by me and definitely add value to the worksphere. Great examples include the Digging Into WordPress eBook and Gina Trapani’s The Complete Guide To Google Wave.

What’s your take on eBooks? Is there a better way to consume and impart information? Are you a people person?