A Futurist's Observations: A recent New York Times article, brought to my attention by editor Neil Marr, describes the impact on the author, and of writers in general, of the present internet-inspired activity of asking writers for content with no expectation of compensation. Usually, the people asking will state that the writer will gain in intangibles like “eyeballs,” people who will read their material, clicks to their pages, media stats that will rack up by their name… and that this is far more valuable than filthy things like money.
3 comments:
I love the snarky undertone of this article! I think that the arguments the author makes are completely grounded in reality and pose a serious problem that the internet is bringing to light. The expectation for writers and other creators of content that can be digitally displayed is becoming more and more frequently that they do not need compensation for their work. I think this stems from the influx of free content, literary and otherwise, that becomes increasingly available online every day. People are ceasing to view digital media as a sole source of income for some people. Books are tangible, they can be held, so it is easier to understand that the words inside of them put food on somebody's table. However, you can't touch what's inside of your screen, and it becomes harder to grasp that what you can't touch could also put food on someone's table. Before asking any creator to do anything, anywhere, monetary considerations should definitely be evaluated.
The author, Steven Jordan, is clearly bitter about their inability to make money writing on the internet. It seems to me unrightfully. The Jordan talks about capitalism and how it has worked for many years, but forgets that as supply goes up demand goes down. One of the results of creating a network where anyone can publish what they want with ease is that a lot of people do. With millions of people writing articles for the internet every day the value of those articles has dropped significantly. A risk that artists take is that they might not be good enough and will have to find another profession. There are a lot of writers out there who make a living based on their art. If the author is not good enough to follow suit then maybe he should learn some different skills. If Jordan can not handle being told his art is not worth any money he is in the wrong business
This article says a lot from the perspective that we often try not to hear. There is definitely a struggle on this topic that goes unseen. It is far too easy to assume that we don't have to actually pay for the information we find. It is especially difficult in an electronic medium because there is a contradictory sense of mistrust in what we read on the Internet. However, we use it all the time because it is the most convenient, and the fact of the matter is that it is really a commodity. I think we should work to perpetuate a mindset that has a little more respect for authors in general, so that we can eventually create a culture where they are fairly compensated for the work they do.
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