[Editor's Note] You Can't Just Be Yourself

I recently attended a class on "produc-tion" arranged by the Magazine Business Association of Taipei. There, creative maven Chan Wei-hsiung, vice chairman of the Xue Xue Institute, offered a perspective drawn from his personal experience: Traditional editors-in-chief were knowledgeable, analytical individuals who racked their brains every month to fill their magazines with substantial pieces. But times have changed and nowadays people prefer sound bites over depth. As a result, modern-day editors of print publications need to transform into "producers" with an understanding of TV and film.

Magazine "producers" need a firm grasp on many areas. They must be able to match images to text and make their print media visually striking; ensure that their in-house staff and freelancers are prepared to team up and work together at any time; ensure that their online and print versions work together and their online versions are always up to date; deliver solid print content, but also use related events to create buzz; and develop systems that allow their magazines to store and add to the information they so laboriously accumulate, essentially turning their magazines into databases capable of reselling information to clients that need it.

In the end, every business is in the service industry. Taken a step further, we could even say that every business is in show business. You can't just be yourself: survival depends on incorporating the skills and attributes of others, substantially or superficially, to make yourself more interesting.

In other words, everyone living in the post-modern world has to adhere to the post-modern spirit of breaking down boundaries; we must destroy the old to build the foundations of the new and make the impossible possible.

This month we report on a successful case in point: the altogether unique Cai Guo-Qiang, an artist who works both on canvas (with gunpowder inks) and in space (with explosions and installations). Most of his work utilizes gunpowder in some way, but many of his signature pieces have no connection at all. While his individual works are completely unpredictable, they remain unified by their quintessential "Cai"-ness.

This month's cover story looks at another kind of boundary crossing-the remaking of Taiwanese manufacturing plants into "tourist factories." Over the last few years, these no-nonsense facilities have begun opening their doors to the public. Whatever they produce, from bathroom fixtures to superconductors, manufacturers seeking success can no longer simply make and sell goods; they have to open up as well.

But there's definitely pain involved in renewal. In one case mentioned by our writer, the second-generation owner of a traditional manufacturing plant revitalized the facility by converting it into a tourist factory and implementing modern logistics, only to be ousted by his father, who came out of retirement to retake control of the company. Though the factory remained open to tourists, older employees have expressed concerns about "changes of tone" and inequities. Can a half-transformed facility be as effective as a fully transformed one? Employees have their doubts.

This issue also looks at a much larger rejuvenation project, the re-branding and rebirth of "Bangka"-Taipei City's Wanhua District. A much more difficult project, proponents and critics continue to fiercely debate its merits, and a consensus is likely still many years away.

As competition within and among human societies has become ever more intense, the natural world has been ever more neglected. This month's features on coral and a plant preservation center offer a depressing contrast. Plants and animals differ from humanity in their much more limited means to adapt to changing conditions. In essence, they can do little but resign themselves to their fate. Their ultimate survival depends on the accommodations reached between those humans who are killing them and those who are seeking to preserve them.

The human beings around the world are fantastic in their variety. The natural world should be as well. Creating that kind of human diversity takes innovation and effort. Maintaining natural diversity requires people willing to fight for it. Taiwan certainly doesn't lack for innovation and hard work. Let's hope we don't end up lacking a diverse ecosystem.