Does free ever hold value? I suppose I should clarify where I am coming from. I am thinking about a situation where someone produces content or a product that the recipient will not have to provide monetary value to receive.

I have been thinking a lot about where we as a mass are going, and I think the majority of us have been programmed by society to measure value incorrectly.

There appears to be an extreme position one way or the other. Either a person is all about making money and only measures value in monetary gain, or they are completely against money and are out to “fight the system.” My proposal is that both extremes are incorrect.

I want to see a culture that works to create value, but understands that value is never free. Excellent content and products are always built on years of time, effort, and skill. However we need to understand that many excellent products and services never receive applause and recognition through monetary value. Maybe the better reward to excellent content is attention.

Attention will become more and more scarce as time goes on.

Don’t worry about money. Seek to provide value. Value can come in the form of reflection and growth. It can come in the form of 15 seconds of laughter. If more emphasis is put on creating excellent content and intangible value, then I think we would all be better off for it.

It seems like Joker was right, but not in the way he intended. Don’t do anything for free, but remember that attention is more rewarding than money. More money is always a possibility. Attention is a more finite resource.

Just some random thoughts…