This is all bittersweet
by amandakeee
Let me start of this post with a list of the things I hate:
- My hard work not paying off
- My hard work not getting the credits it deserve
- Someone taking my hard work and deeming it as theirs
- People talking about my work but not knowing it is mine
Sorry for welcoming you with negativity and bitterness but take a moment to imagine all those happening to you. Wouldn’t you feel frustrated? Offended? EXASPERATED? Yes, me too.
(Photo source: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-big-bang-theory-sheldon-gif)
Posting your materials online for free comes at a price, the risk of someone taking your work and posing it as theirs is extremely high. Ideas are thrown all over the internet and its often hard to not have them copied by others.
I feel especially for the people new in their respective industries, they have not yet gained a sufficient amount of exposure from the public and now they have to deal with people stealing their work and enjoying them for free.
Something interesting: The problem is that, although the internet has expanded the audience for media, it has all but destroyed the market for it (Levin, 2011)
An example would be aspiring singers on Youtube who have their music available on online broadcasting applications like, Itunes, for sale. Instead of paying that dollar or more for a piece of pure talent, people out there download their songs illegally for free. Money don’t grow on trees and rent don’t pay themselves! Outrageous!
On a brighter note, lets look at how providing free content online is not only a door to many possibilities but a brave step towards sharing your piece of knowledge and talent with the rest of the world!
(Photo source: http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma9jgbzRds1qakrdzo3_250.gif)
We now look at bloggers, their materials online are mostly available for free but yet, they still get paid. Bloggers like Pete Cashmore, gets paid a jaw dropping amount of $600,000 a month! That’s almost 133 times more than the average Singaporean’s monthly wage.
(Photo source: http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/world/worlds-10-top-earning-bloggers/?view=all)
This encourages online content providers to strive for outstanding content to boost their number of viewership. With the increase in viewers, advertisers will pay them to advertise on their websites or have them review their products on their blogs.
Learning is ultimately about sharing knowledge and views about different topics. Reading each other’s work and engaging in healthy debates will allow us to look at things from a different perspective. This will be made easier if content is available for free!
At the end of the day, whether you want to provide free make-up tutorials or have people subscribe to your website to get healthy life tips at the price of $9.99 a month, it is your choice to make.
(Photo Source: http://oliviergiroudd.tumblr.com/post/30457556548)
References:
Darling, A. (2014, December 2). The 10 Top Earning Bloggers In The World. Retrieved November 11, 2015, from http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/world/worlds-10-top-earning-bloggers/?view=all
Levin, R. (2011, August 14). How the internet has all but destroyed the market for films, music and newspapers. Retrieved November 11, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/aug/14/robert-levine-digital-free-ride
Lunn, E. (2012, July 27). How Pete Cashmore made £60million from blogging. Retrieved November 11, 2015, from https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/how-pete-cashmore-made-£60-from-blogging.html
Singapore Average Monthly Wages | 1989-2015 | Data | Chart | Calendar. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/singapore/wages
(2012, September 16). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma9jgbzRds1qakrdzo3_250.gif
.logo.filled .inner, .logo:hover .inner { opacity: 1; fill: Url(#rollover); }. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-big-bang-theory-sheldon-gif
Oliviergiroudd. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2015, from http://oliviergiroudd.tumblr.com/post/30457556548
Amanda's 
Hey Amanda,
Thank you for the wonderful post covering the risks for content providers to allow open access to their materials. As mentioned, new authors or composers who are not well known or reputable face a risk of their work being stolen, is it wise for them to invest on patents as they may not be sponsored?
In a case where a more reputable content provider who produced his/her work with the ideas from a new author and claims it to be original, how does the new author protect himself in terms of reputation and monetary, and what are the ways to encourage the new author to continue producing work to be shared for free?
Last but not least, I believe that by creating free tutorials, content providers can also bring traffic to their sites for more in depth tutorials or consultations, where it may serve as a value added service which can be offered at an affordable rate as a source of income.
Cheers! 🙂
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Hi Amanda!
I really like how you are so firm in putting yourself in the shoes of the content producers! It definitely allowed me to do the same, and understand the struggles of content producers in their career as people demand free online materials.
What you have said, “although the internet has expanded the audience for media, it has all but destroyed the market for it (Levin, 2011)”, i found that it precisely summarised the main issue for online content and intrigued me to think wider and deeper. Somehow, it is instilled in user’s minds that what’s on the internet, should be free. What they can’t hold in their hands, should be free. But in this age, everything is shifting towards technology and the digital world and I find that the root of this problem is that users are not catching up with this progress.
However, paying bloggers with good content is a good start in having people to accept this idea. I enjoyed reading your blog as your points made are clear and firm. Thank you for sharing!
Cheers,
Sze Li
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