When The Steam Runs Out.
Well, I guess it's inevitable. One of the bloggers I sort of “followed” has taken a hiatus. Sure, April, right. (www.fimoculous.com) A fellow Minnesotan, he's actually paid to do something with/to content, instead of me, I'm just paid to make sure it moves around. Wonder if I could get paid by the mile instead of the megabyte?! It's easier for me, I make no pretenses to anything like a schedule here: I come in for the caffeine, the yummy munchies, and Charlie's zeitgeist. Uh oh, I think I'm going to get a lecture on misusing that word...
But for others, the blogging is the thing. Remember Flash Mobs? I was signed up on CheeseBikini (one of the primo flash-mob listserv/blog) within 1 minute of hearing about it. Within months, it was gone. I mean it looked like last summer was going to be just the warm up. It was the swan song. So we're left behind thinking what did we do wrong? Where's our ? I think it might be the “open source” problem in a tight economy. When all the sources for your content are being paid to do ancillary jobs, then you benefit from their hobbies. When things begin to suck, and a trend inevitably stales, then you begin to loose that benefit. Like companies tightening art-budgets: all of a sudden things are a bit quieter for a while. Ok, ok, maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.
I just think that perhaps it might be interesting to archive some of the ones you like, because the author/owner may not be counted on to keep the fire burning. Maybe we'll just move to a more cooperative content mode: Like Charlie's... A facility is made available to a community, and everyone tosses in two cents on whatever. I work with a unionized workforce, and I am perpetually amazed at how well-organized the informal support system works: stocking and selling sodas and coffe to keep funding the bottled-water deliveries.
The “flower fund” for someone getting the wrong end of the stick, various pools on athletic events. It's pretty interesting. Whereas my department has nothing so formal or organized. My department also probably has a 300% pay-disparity in 20 people. (The p/t new guy's maybe $30k, the boss is $100) And this a non-profit run by the state. It just seems so unlikely until you see it. So when it comes to communities producing, I've seen both ends. I think the hope lies my union co-workers. Form up with your peers, network, and as an aside, make some content. Home movies chopped together to garage-band music? Howsabout micro radio stations? Blogs? Whatever, it all works. We can no longer think of another idiotic bubble allowing rich technocrats to use their toys to generate content on the side. And the bored kiddies will mostly continue to produce attacks and exploits. Oh I'm rambling again. I should go take a nap, it is after all Sunday...