The end of academic publications?

I had a lecture about academic publications. Interestingly (or unexpectedly for the organiser), he talked about the "reality" of the world of academic publications. Well, it could have been just a negative story, but personally I felt that it reflected the change of society. Actually there are a lot of ways to publish your thoughts now. Academic publications are not only way.

The authority would be an advantage of academic publications, but as Socal affair revealed, even the authority could be questioned in the modern society. I suppose there is still some advantages for publishing your academic articles in academic publications since it is a kind of network, in which people who have a same interest gather.

What was interest in the lecture was that the lecturer emphasised th importance of sharing your ideas. Research work cannot be solitude. In this message, publications are one of the ways to build up your own network, so if you hesitate submission of your articles or publish your ideas, it would be worth trying anyway.