Interaction and dialogue on Medium
It is only with interaction and dialogue we begin to exploit the power of writing on Medium.
John Brier thinking aloud on how writers get paid in a digital age, turned his thoughts into an article, to which I responded. What followed illustrates the power of Medium.
If someone steals my laptop, as they did, it deprives me of the use of my laptop, it deprives me of the data contained on my laptop.
If I share music, I have deprived no one of anything.
A book, a CD, has a price, because we are paying for a physical object, it has to be made, stored, moved, retailed. We are paying for the medium, not the content.
For a book, a tree has to be cut down, wood pulped into paper, the book printed and bound, stored, distributed. It is is for this we are paying, not the words contained within.
With digital, it is the content we are paying for, as the cost of the infrastructure has long been written off, or is an infinitesimal part of the cost. How do we ensure a fair price goes to the writer, creator, composer? How do we determine what is a fair price?
How do we price a piece of music, what value do we put on the shiver that goes down our spine when we hear great music?
Great music is priceless, bad music is worthless — Steve Lawson
Bandcamp has turned the music world on its head. You can listen on-line, share, often the download is free or a low minimum price, pay what you think it is worth, or some combination.
A few months ago, we began tracking the starting point of every sale that happens on Bandcamp. In the course of looking at the data (which we’re using to help us plan out what to do next), we’ve noticed something awesome: every day, fans are buying music that they specifically set out to get for free. — Bandcamp
Steve Lawson does not like the term free, he prefers zero-cost transaction. An interaction has taken place, and who knows where it may lead.
If someone downloads for free, and does not like, Steve has not lost anything. On the other hand, they may decide to buy an album, may buy FingerPainting, a multi-album collection of a US tour last winter, they may attend a gig, they may invite him for a house concert.
I’ve said before that people hear music, then they like music, then they buy music. It’s important to realise that you need to go a step further than just allowing that to happen. You have to remove all the friction in between. — Andrew Dubber
When we write for Medium, or on a blog, or give a talk for TED (I’ve not yet been invited), we do so for free, with no expectation of being paid, we are contributing to a global cultural common on which we all graze.
I and others have bemoaned that Medium is not living up to expectations, too much trivia, too much of the sameness.
John Brier thinking aloud on how writers get paid in a digital age, the interaction between the two of us that followed, illustrates the power of Medium. It was a refreshing change to what I and others had been bemoaning the day before and served to illustrate the power of Medium if used effectively.
Any new medium, offers what has gone before, it is only when people start to experiment, explore, we see that we have something new.
A newspaper, is printed on paper, the digital, on-line version, is more than replacing paper and ink, with pixels on a screen. It offers interaction. It becomes dynamic, it is no longer static.
When newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson was knocked to the ground and killed during G20 protests in London, it was only when a visitor from New York, sent to The Guardian film footage he had taken during a break in a meeting, that we learnt the truth of what had happened, a truth that was at variance with police accounts.
With notes, I can add little asides, expand upon what I have written.
I can also add notes to what others have written.
If someone has taken the trouble to read what you have written, has taken the trouble to leave a note, then at least have the courtesy to make that note public.
Similarly, if they have added further reading, make it public.
I could see, I could expand upon, answer, many of the points John Brier had raised. Rather than simply add, I sent him a message on twitter, of my intentions.
I then added a few thoughts and references to his article.
Many of my references were for music, but was transferable. I then thought of a few more examples, which would be useful, then I realised, doubly useful, as these were real world examples of e-books.
John Brier appreciated our dialogue was useful, and tweeted to others, including Medium, to follow.
One would have thought Medium would have re-tweeted,as illustrates the power of Medium. I am sorry to say they did not.
Medium is only going to be useful if people leave notes, share, recommend. And it follows, make public for all to see. And of course it goes without saying, write something worth reading.
By adding notes, adding further reading, I have added value to the original article. The article then becomes not only of value in itself, but also for the references. This is not only of value to the author of the article, but to readers too.
A point Katharine Viner, deputy editor of The Guardian and editor-in-chief of Guardian Australia, made in her talk on the future of journalism. External links are not only useful to the reader, add value to an article, but make the article the starting point for the reader.
The Times erects a firewall. How is this bringing news to readers? The Times had an article on zombie pubco Marston selling off in excess of two hundred pubs. Unable to read, I simply went elsewhere.
Local papers take this to ludicrous extremes. They simply do not put the news on-line.
Too often forgotten:
- social media, social networks: social → dialogue, interaction; network → many to many
- broadcast→ one to many
The interaction between John Brier and myself went on into the early hours of the morning. For me until 5-30am.
When you write an article, you do not know if it is going to be read, if it is read, appreciated.
If you like something you have read or heard, then please recommend, tweet, re-tweet, share with your friends.
If a reader or listener, has taken the trouble to leave a note, a recommendation for further reading, then please have the courtesy to make public, respond.
