The metaphor of an isolated island brings into clarity not only the proliferation of business models and products within our industry, but also the external forces that keep us contained, separate and, therefore, vulnerable.

We've done an excellent job at diversifying our offerings against the demands of our markets, and an excellent job of optimizing our sites for maximum revenue and profit.

But we have not taken the evolutionary steps necessary to protect ourselves from the sort of legal and political disasters we must all agree could overwhelm us at any moment.

As an industry, we have quite rationally responded to the many legal and political dangers we face with an assortment of legal and political defenses. Our efforts to self-regulate in light of issues such as 2257 and to form outward-facing advocacy organizations such as ASACP are absolutely essential and must continue with even greater energy. But there is a strategic response we have neglected almost entirely...

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