One Purpose, Many Motivations
"I don't blog for money."--Doc
Searls
"Me, I would blog for bucks tomorrow."--Ed
Cone
The Challenge
I love blogs. The first thing I
do each morning is get my blog fix. And, over the past year, I've noticed a
disturbing trend.
Over and over, we see people start writing online, and then falter or stop. And
many people -- including those who support themselves and their families
through their writing -- can't even afford to start writing online.
The problem isn't technology or writer's block. It's time.
If we supported the writers we enjoy, we could help them keep
writing. We could give them
"time to think and write more deeply [so that] the quality of the work I
produce is vastly superior."
And, we could vastly expand the online writing universe, by giving all the
potential writers the support they need to start -- and to continue. Imagine
that.
Finding an Answer
The current answer -- donations -- doesn't work for online writing. Reader
reactions range from "giving a
donation is slightly stressful" to
"I will not voluntarily give money to a [blog]."
So, how do we come up with an answer that is easy and fair, yet smart, and
appealing to both readers and writers?
1. Make it Easy
Paying each writer, one at a time, is too painful to think about. It's one of
the reasons why donations don't work.
Instead, let's use the Disneyland approach:
"entrance to the park costs money, and all the rides are free." We'll pay
one price for unlimited access to all of the writing -- say,
as little as $9.95 per month.
2. Make it Fair
This approach sounds pretty good. However, if each writer automatically
gets the same portion of our payments, that isn't very fair -- what if we never
read Sam?
Instead, let's automatically divide our payment among all of the writers we
read, based on how often we read each one. In other words, if you read Jill
more than Jack, Jill gets that much more of your payment. If you never read
Sam, Sam doesn't get any of your payment.
3. Make it Smart
It's easy, it's fair -- we've just created a smart marketplace for writing. If
you enjoy a writer, just read them to support them. As a writer writes more
frequently, or writes better entries, they'll be read and receive more income,
from more people.
When? Now.
This is a person-to-person endeavor, as personal as any conversation, using the
Internet to connect us in ways broadcast media never has -- or could. We're not
a "target audience" or a "consumer" being fed a manufactured "content product";
we're people supporting each other, making our own decisions.
Every writer is a potential reader; every reader, a potential writer. The
playing field is level -- anyone can choose to support writers, or to write
and be supported by their readers.
We know
what we want. And, we have the power to make it happen.
Ready to participate? Welcome. To begin,
go here.
Regards,
The Blogit Team
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