"We need to widen the idea of what the literature is and what it is made up of."

Quite true. And I agree that science's past collective experience makes it difficult to see what comes next.

The problem is few, if any, of the things that will end up replacing journals will be pursued by big publishers. To start off with, these new scientific communication channels will come into being looking half-baked, way too informal, and plain hokey. Not only that, but they'll have cost structures that leave little or nothing in the way of a viable business model for a big organization. To top it all off, they'll disrupt the current publication ecosystem involving grant applicants, funding agencies, and publishers - making almost all involved a little anxious - at least for awhile. They'll produce little but loathing and concern from all 'serious' observers for some time.

Don't look to today's leaders for glimpses of what the future holds. Look to the bumbling upstarts.