Internet a global commons
Internet was created as a global commons. This is even more true of the World Wide Web, a depository of shared documents, each designed to link to other documents.
There will always be those who will try to carve out their own little fiefdoms, to enclose the commons.
But, as Charles Eisenstein discusses in Sacred Economics, it is nigh impossible to make money on the internet. Maybe, because that was not what it was designed for.
We see what Paul Mason described as silly money chasing silly projects, giant Ponzi scams, inflate the value, hope to sell before everyone wakes up to what you are selling is worthless, a classic case of the Emperor has No Clothes.
This is what caused the 2008 banking crisis, which morphed into an economic crisis, from there to geopolitical crisis, when bankers conned the world into buying worthless financial instruments, which for a time were treated as gold, we even had the ridiculous concept of risk-less risk. The Nobel Prize was awarded for risk-less risk, a few days later Lehman Brothers collapsed.
Medium was created as a commons, a place to share writing. No mention of charging for access, no mention of paying writers.
It was by all accounts a success.
Medium was founded five years ago to pursue worthy aims, which we all applauded and supported.
So, we are shifting our resources and attention to defining a new model for writers and creators to be rewarded, based on the value they’re creating for people. And toward building a transformational product for curious humans who want to get smarter about the world every day.
It is too soon to say exactly what this will look like.
Having created a collaborative commons, we are now witnessing a classic case of enclosure of the commons.
What we now see, the original vision lying in shreds, an attempt to enclose the Medium commons, a crude power grab by the Vulture Capitalists, an attempt to kick the commoners off the commons, then to have the bloody cheek to charge them if they attempt to set foot within the commons.
DHH:
It’s a crying shame, really. I love Medium. It’s the best writing environment on the web, and they sweat the details like nobody else. The community too is just peach. This could have been a love story for the ages.
But I don’t think we’ll grow old together, Medium and I. I suspect it’ll end quite tragic, actually. $132,000,000 is a lot of money after all, and that’s how much venture capital Medium has been dipped in. Before having a prayer or a song about how to turn into that multi-billion-dollar business it must to satisfy the required rate of return.
The Vulture Capitalists have failed to recognise we are now postcapitalism, where information flows freely.
This debate is no longer about keeping the lights on at Medium, which is admittedly an important discussion. It’s about whether Ev can stand up to his VC’s or not. I have a feeling he gets the Commons principle, but his hands are tied. That’s the cost of going after easy capital. Ev should have a conversation with DHH about reconsidering:
Ev Williams should show some backbone, stand up to the Vulture Capitalists, and he will have the full support of the commoners if he does.
Yes, they could pull the plug, pull their funding.
Let them.
What Ev Williams needs to do before that happens, to scupper what they may try, is make the entire platform Open Source, cover it with a Creative Commons or GPL licence.
What we have seen is misselling. No one was told they would have to pay to gain access. Had this been clear from the outset, few would be writing for Medium.
For Robert Cormack, Robert Cormack, Michael Haupt, DHH, Keith Parkins, Jeffrey Field, Vanessa Praça-Correa, White Feather, Shahzeb Akhter, Michael Ramsburg, Kathleen Clarke Anderson, Kyle Argento Luvumn Anna Breslin Adam MaldonadoWendi Adair ePeak Giulia Blasi Saul Juan Antonio Cuautle Srinath Paul ReneyStephen M. Tomic Iogo Chirola Peter David Montgomery David Smooke Mike Essig Cristian Randieri, Phd Zac Chapepa north boy Nichole Elliot NicholsJohn Beck Jan Friman Jessica Semaan Bruce Kunkel Jason Stelzner, Renée S, Karl Milfburn, S Lynn Knight, Angiest In Seattle, Nenad Maljković, Betty Lim, Shelby Astin, Matthew Deyn and fellow commoners and everyone who has contributed and expressed their concern at the enclosure of the Medium commons.
And no, I still do not know why some are in green and some are not.
