begging
You know what I don't like to see? It's when people who run websites (or weblogs as they often are these days) ask you for contributions.
I don't care. Nobody makes you run a web site. If you want to write and get paid for it, get a job. If you have a job and you're still asking for money, well, it seems greedy to me.
I used to visit the Buffy Episode Guide quite a lot, because I couldn't be bothered to wait to see what happened. Sure, these people put quite a lot of work into the site; sure, it was entertaining. But then after a while they realise they've dedicated their lives to producing something for free, that's it's costing them more all the time, and start to ask for contributions to cover their expenses. It's a pattern that has been followed throughout the history of the innernet. First, people discover something they think is groovy, that lets them express themselves in ways they never could before; then it takes over their lives because they're inadequate at balancing work/leisure/friends/family. Then they ask for money.
I still don't care. This blog is free to me (so far), but if it came to it and I had to pay, well, that's between me and my ego as to whether I continue to do it. Nobody forcing me at gunpoint.
The alternative route to providing your thoughts free-of-charge to the whole world is to not do it. The alternative to having the freedom to write just about anything you want is to work for an organisation that tells you what to write. That way you get paid for it, but you'll find yourself, as the guy in the film said, covering dog shows and church fetes or writing about other subjects that repel or bore you.
Begging on a blog is the equivalent of saying, "Please let me write what the hell I like with no peer review and no editorial control, and please pay me for it."
This thought is worth 2p so far.
It's like when people stop you on the street to ask market research questions. You can stand and give your time and opinions for free, or you can walk on by. Visiting a web site with a Paypal or Amazon Payments button is like going round someone's house and being charged for a cup of tea.
It's like Fox in Socks asking Mr Knox for money after messing with his head for half an hour.
I don't care. Nobody makes you run a web site. If you want to write and get paid for it, get a job. If you have a job and you're still asking for money, well, it seems greedy to me.
I used to visit the Buffy Episode Guide quite a lot, because I couldn't be bothered to wait to see what happened. Sure, these people put quite a lot of work into the site; sure, it was entertaining. But then after a while they realise they've dedicated their lives to producing something for free, that's it's costing them more all the time, and start to ask for contributions to cover their expenses. It's a pattern that has been followed throughout the history of the innernet. First, people discover something they think is groovy, that lets them express themselves in ways they never could before; then it takes over their lives because they're inadequate at balancing work/leisure/friends/family. Then they ask for money.
I still don't care. This blog is free to me (so far), but if it came to it and I had to pay, well, that's between me and my ego as to whether I continue to do it. Nobody forcing me at gunpoint.
The alternative route to providing your thoughts free-of-charge to the whole world is to not do it. The alternative to having the freedom to write just about anything you want is to work for an organisation that tells you what to write. That way you get paid for it, but you'll find yourself, as the guy in the film said, covering dog shows and church fetes or writing about other subjects that repel or bore you.
Begging on a blog is the equivalent of saying, "Please let me write what the hell I like with no peer review and no editorial control, and please pay me for it."
This thought is worth 2p so far.
It's like when people stop you on the street to ask market research questions. You can stand and give your time and opinions for free, or you can walk on by. Visiting a web site with a Paypal or Amazon Payments button is like going round someone's house and being charged for a cup of tea.
It's like Fox in Socks asking Mr Knox for money after messing with his head for half an hour.
posted by Anonymous at
Thursday, October 30, 2003
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