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Writing for the web creates a lot of new questions about who owns all those words
circulating out there on web sites, in ezines and in ebooks. What about the CD's
created from many of those words in all those digital forms all over the web?
Instead of books or articles or columns, it's all being renamed "Content".
In a 2nd Circuit Court decision last year, six freelance writers won a case
against the New York Times, Newsday and Time for copyright infringement. Their
work was re-sold as digital content on a CDROM and later published on the web.
Their claim that they did NOT relicense their work for use on the web or in
digital compilations and were entitled to compensation when that content was
re-sold was accepted by the court in a judgement against the original publishers
of that content.
Many writers online offer their articles "Free" for use on the web,
in ezines or in ebooks available online. But in fact are being paid by the publishers
by requiring that "resource boxes" be used, such as the four line
blurb following this article. This is, in fact, a form of payment and is agreed
to by those writers in exchange for the traffic, publicity, subscriptions and
exposure gained when readers visit the authors web site, subscribe to their
ezine or see advertisements run for a fee on their web site.
"Content" is proliferating, professional "paid" writers
work is becoming less valuable online and some professionals are shouting, "ENOUGH!
We want to be paid for our work!"
An article this week at "Ezine-Tips.com" discusses how to raise the
ire of any professional writer by asking them to write for free.
http://ezine-tips.com/articles/management/20010316.shtml
In an earlier article by the same author, (Janet Roberts, associate editor
of "List-Universe.com") many articles by online writers are labeled
"advertising in disguise".
I'll buy that definition in many cases. I'll buy it in this case. I'm advertising
my weekly newsletter and my web site by offering opinion and insight on the
web. And it works! I've written openly and widely that content I provide is
just like an ad for my web site and my business.
http://www.workz.com/content/1680.asp
Advertisers pay to have their ads appear in my newsletter and on my web site.
You might say that my "advertising in disguise" attracts advertising
to support my advertising if you want to see that advertising as inherently
wrong.
But I'll also ask then why is it that my articles are well read and syndicated
across many networks of web sites and ezines. I run a business content distribution
service called "Free-Content" at:
http://yahoogroups.com/group/Free-Content
Over 500 well respected writers and publishers subscribe to that list and publish
articles distributed there. I'm about to expand that service into additional
topics and expect all to be just as successful as the business content list.
It's not advertising, it's content, it's free and I am a professional. What
does that all mean? I leave it to you to decide.
And now for a word from our sponsor.
About the Author:
Mike Banks Valentine WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur
Tip Sheet Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet Subscribe
address mailto:WebSite101-subscribe@listbot.com articles available: http://website101.com/freecontent.html |
