atw: Re: SEC: UNCLASS Re: Are you content to be a 'content provider'?




Howard said:
> ... It looks as if Stuart, or maybe just our current
> economic climate, is trying to make cynics of us all.

It's true. Anyone who knows me will agree that my fondest
desire is to make the world a crueler, bleaker place. That is,
when I can find some spare time away from tormenting fluffy
kittens and mocking the afflicted...

> Stuart said:
> > Well it's certainly being valued. If you're getting $30/hour,
> > that's what it's being valued at. If you're getting $80/hour,
> > *that's* what it's being valued at.
>
> And I suppose when I create a website for a community organisation
> at no charge, because it's a cause I want to support, you'd say my
> work's being valued at $0 per hour (and therefore is worthless?)?
> If we all looked at it that way, who would do anything 'for nothing'?

Think of the payment as a minimum value that the client places
on your work. They may not say anything positive about it, they
may not really understand what went into it, but at a _minimum_
they showed you that it's worth at least $1,000 or $10,000 or
whatever. If you also know yourself that it's good work and
you're proud of it, that's a winning combination.

In your 'charitable work' example, we don't know what dollar
value the client places on your work, and really, who cares.
Theyr'e not saying it's worth zero dollars--you're offering it
for free and they're accepting it. Whether your contact at the
community organisation goes on to shower you with praise, or
accepts it without comment, the important thing is whether
it's good work that benefits the people it's intended to serve.

To put an extreme case, what if your client says, "Hey Howard,
when is that content going to be ready? I've got a hole in the
web page and I need to put some crap in there. If you don't
provide it by Thursday, I'll have to go with 'Lorem ipsum dolor'."
I still don't think that changes the value of your work. If you
value it highly, and you believe it benefits the users of the
web site, that's what counts. (Of course, you might also believe
that this oaf is the last person who should be responsible for a
community web site, and I would agree with you.)

Now I just spotted a defenceless puppy, so I have to go...

Cheers

"Count Olaf" Burnfield

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