By the same logic the author shouldn't tweet for free either.
I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
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Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#22I can understand the frustration of the author, however, HuffPo is not a government or social entity. It IS part of the free market. I am a huge proponent of the free market, however, that does not mean the free market will be perfect. In the short term, there are fits and starts and cycles that everything goes through, but it is only through the free market that we will progress over the long-term. Writers are unfor…
But what is the actual benefit of the HuffPo platform? I don't think anyone sees "HuffPo Contributor" as a byline and considers the author to somehow be a legitimate writer. Nor does HuffPo give any percentage of ad revenue.
The best possible scenario is that readers get used to seeing your name on the Huffington Post, so they return for your future posts. Great. You don't get paid for them either.
Can you point out even one success from this platform? Someone who started out on HuffPo and has become successful?
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#23I can understand the frustration of the author, however, HuffPo is not a government or social entity. It IS part of the free market. I am a huge proponent of the free market, however, that does not mean the free market will be perfect. In the short term, there are fits and starts and cycles that everything goes through, but it is only through the free market that we will progress over the long-term. Writers are unfor…
The writer has a personal platform: His blog.
By the way: I assume you're a developer of some sort, since you're reading Hacker News. I need an app developed. My start-up has raised a few million in funding, but we can't pay you with money. Writing code is clearly something you're passionate about, and giving you an outlet for that passion should be compensation enough.
My e-mail's on my profile page. Please reach out!
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#24I agree with the writer's points that HuffPo seems like a pretty bad deal for the writer; but honestly how different is that from HN? Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money; the product they offer is obviously desirable or people would stop visiting. Therefore, it is worth something. A large portion of the top content on HN comes from peoples' personal blogs. While these blogs often run ads, I seriously doubt those…
> Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money
You cant,HuffPo is totally for profit and sold like 100millions to AOL.HuffPo is a giant ad page like most AOL "news" network.
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#25I agree with the writer's points that HuffPo seems like a pretty bad deal for the writer; but honestly how different is that from HN? Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money; the product they offer is obviously desirable or people would stop visiting. Therefore, it is worth something. A large portion of the top content on HN comes from peoples' personal blogs. While these blogs often run ads, I seriously doubt those…
The difference is that no one from HN is asking you to write something. It's not the same "I wrote this thing because I wanted to and I'm letting HN/HuffPo link/mirror on their site" and "You asked me to write something for you, so you can win more money, and I'm doing it for free". One is an article for you, the other one is work for another person.
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#26I agree with the writer's points that HuffPo seems like a pretty bad deal for the writer; but honestly how different is that from HN? Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money; the product they offer is obviously desirable or people would stop visiting. Therefore, it is worth something. A large portion of the top content on HN comes from peoples' personal blogs. While these blogs often run ads, I seriously doubt those…
I'm not exactly sure how HuffPo works, but my understanding was that they host, display, and provide the content as their own. Which is completely different from HN, which simply LINKS to the content itself. So the author/whoever is free to generate their own ad revenue or whatever else they'd like from their content. And HN does none of that.
How is that even remotely the same?
Plus:
> Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money;
Isn't that kind of a huge point?
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#27I agree with the writer's points that HuffPo seems like a pretty bad deal for the writer; but honestly how different is that from HN? Ignoring the fact that HN makes no money; the product they offer is obviously desirable or people would stop visiting. Therefore, it is worth something. A large portion of the top content on HN comes from peoples' personal blogs. While these blogs often run ads, I seriously doubt those…
What are Huffington Post's intellectual property terms? That could be a big distinction between Huffington Post and HN.
On HN, nobody signs over any IP, nor does the copyright holder necessarily grant a license of any sort. (If you doubt that, consider the fact that I can submit anyone's URL to HN. So submitters aren't assumed to have any authority over the IP.)
With periodicals, though, there usually is a contract with writers where rights are assigned to the publisher. Maybe the copyright, maybe just a license. There's usually something along those lines.
So the difference between HN and such periodicals (which may or may not include HuffPo) is the difference between merely sharing a link and signing over IP rights.
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#28the class of people who own the world and control all the assets may finally begin to see the error of their ways Their ways? Arianna Huffington didn't cause the current epidemic of narcissism making people willing to write for free to stroke their ego as he aptly noted. She also didn't inherit HuffPo so all that talk about socialism and inheritance tax is just more signalling on the author's part. Which is why they…
this writer has a real axe to grind with people trying to make money from rent, sheesh
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#29I can not stress this enough: NEVER work for free. Don't do unpaid internships. Also try to avoid selling yourself under value (hint: you are probably worth at least twice you could imagine). Ever had someone accept your demanded rate without negotiating? You know you must ask for more next time.
Besides owing it to yourself, working for less than your right wage will harm your industry.
Re: I got invited to write for the Huffington Post today
#30the class of people who own the world and control all the assets may finally begin to see the error of their ways Their ways? Arianna Huffington didn't cause the current epidemic of narcissism making people willing to write for free to stroke their ego as he aptly noted. She also didn't inherit HuffPo so all that talk about socialism and inheritance tax is just more signalling on the author's part. Which is why they…
the current epidemic of narcissism making people willing to write for free to stroke their ego as he aptly noted
To be fair, some people write for free to learn things, share things, and spread knowledge. That's why I started a blog. And virtually all professors, who produce work for journals, don't get paid directly via their writing, but rather via their home institution, and sometimes other means (like grants).
Universities are different than the HuffPo, but the point is still important.