tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184836410456050611.post5991024068404201015..comments2023-09-13T04:43:04.253-06:00Comments on Mister Fweem's Blog: Words Less Valuable Than Spreadable CheeseMister Fweemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10339287419996343926noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184836410456050611.post-91739775059379259272010-10-01T19:29:52.591-06:002010-10-01T19:29:52.591-06:00I understand your frustration, and I've said r...I understand your frustration, and I've said recently myself that I am rarely willing to pay just to read something, because there is rarely the need to. But I'm spending more to read now than I have for years. So I wonder, are words really worth less now than in the past? What if they are Jonathan Franzen's or J.K. Rowling's words?<br /><br />Our household reading-related spending (books plus internet) has probably never been higher than right now, if you exclude past educational spending. This past month, buying the Kindle, it probably surpassed $250 for the month. Plus I viewed many hundreds of ads, which I consider a form of payment. In all this, someone somewhere is being paid something for their writing by me.<br /><br />Because I am somewhat anti-capitalist, I tend to interpret the fundamental problem you pose as entirely one of markets. No product, words or cheese spread, has any inherent value. Value is not created by production, but by scarcity relative to demand. If as many people were producing cheese spread as are now publishing words, you likewise could not give 99.9999% of it away.<br /><br />But I think more superlative writing is published today than ever. Same for photography, and music, and film, and even TV. All media, across the board. It is an unimaginable golden age. I'd be surprised if you didn't feel the same.<br /><br />Anyway, I think things like P2P and open source will continue to drive hosting services and other tech companies into oblivion. They shift costs directly onto users and non-profit developers, and they are costs both are very willing to bear. I think P2P is the perfect distribution model. Everyone pays for what they consume by sharing the costs of distribution. Scribd and such, ultimately, just cannot compete with P2P. They are all running on fumes. The only thing that is saving them now is the immaturity of P2P.carl ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14291193391743469159noreply@blogger.com