Joe had a good post this week about Chuck Cook self-publishing some information and photos he had gathered about Brasserie Dupont - and then putting being a click-through payment button offering access for $4.99. It is at the upper right at Chuck's blog if you want to go check it out. Joe suggested "[o]f course, you could always download the material and start emailing it around and sharing it on the Internet for free. If you're a douchebag." For me, this smacked of something I could not put my finger on. I had some odd reactions to this which I thought deserved a reasonably reasonable exploration:
→ I am all for making a buck off beer information. I run ads all over this site and they bring in money. Not enough frankly. Not because these post are dribbles of pure gold but because I can. I am offered the ads and do not go out and search for them. I trust they are worth what I am offered.
→ On the one hand, I had a photo ripped off by BeerAdvocate - not even a very good one, just a rare-ish bottle. I was still ticked and am ticked when I see DRAFT magazine doing the same recently.
→ On the other, I think I have noticed in the past that Chuck sometimes uses watermarks on his images which, if my recollection is true, bugs the hell out of me. But I don't know why. I am not a open source "free beer" phony baloney, was quoted about that - and went on and on. Yet there is something in any topical writing that is about sharing amongst the hopefully widening circle - something beer writing is laden with. A watermark hisses with "my pretty, my pretty".
→ When I see someone calling themselves "the world's top beer writer", a "leading exponent". "one of the world's foremost authorities" or otherwise draw their own conclusions about their place it gives me a fur ball that I just can't gak up. Note: Chuck does not do this on his site. He only notes his actual experience and does not award himself any gold star in summation.
What is wrong with me? I have moaned about there not being money in beer writing for years... best part of a decade if I checked. Maybe if the article were put up to auction and its value assessed would the marketplace of ideas be at play. Maybe if there was a process of reporting back, evidence that (as I wish) he gets 2,000 downloads and makes a pretty penny. But just placing a tag on something and for that tag to instantly become the ethical standard? I just don't get that.
Comments
Joe Stange - November 9, 2011 1:55 PM
"For me, this smacked of something I could not put my finger on."
Excessive snarkery, maybe. I'm often guilty of it.
I'm looking at Chuck's thing as an experiment and interested to see how it goes.
It's worth noting that he's oening himself up to greater criticism by putting his work up for sale. Whereas if you give it away for free on your blog or youtube, people are unlikely to complain either way. In Chuck's case, he will no doubt hear from people, directly or indirectly, letting him know if they thought it was worth $5.
Brian Stechschulte - November 9, 2011 2:35 PM
Hey Alan,
Thanks for your support regarding my quibble with DRAFT Magazine. It's terribly frustrating to see how little they respect the creative work of others and hide behind an improper interpretation of fair use. I don't make a living entirely off my work, but I have sold work to supplement my income.
For several years I've avoided using watermarks. I hate them. I think they take away from photos, but after having my work lifted over a dozen times by websites in the last year I feel I have no choice. It may not prevent people from using the image, like in the case of DRAFT magazine, but at least it illustrates the photo's source if and when it happens and makes it easier to have removed when threatening copyright infringement.
Brian
Alan - November 9, 2011 4:12 PM
One thing that I think is very much in Chuck's favour is that he is clearly investing in his topic. All the trips to Belgium represent a huge commitment to his subject. Me, all I do is drive down to Syracuse or Rochester a few times a year.
Jeff Alworth - November 16, 2011 4:59 AM
If I thought I could get people to pay for my bloggy scribblings, I'd charge. But then they'd just read you instead.