all the Free content! vs. the future: micropayments

Hi everyone.

I want to talk about the market of culture.  "The music industry" as well as film and short video and webcomics and photography and Tik-Tok-sized content and really anything you can download or subscribe to over the internet.

I will tell you upfront my modest cultural subcriptions.  This is what I pay for:

streaming video (Netflix, Hulu, Prime, YouTube)

steaming music (Spotify)

Patreon: Pomplamoose music, and Colin Meloy's Machine Shop (from the Decemberists)

& the Cloud Appreciation Society (newsletter)

This is what I spend the most time using:

Instagram (comics, art, photo & video)

Facebook (posts etc)

NOW.  I believe that there is a large disproportion in who is getting rewarded for what content:  if I feel inspired by some content, I will rush over to compensate via direct donation.

But that doesn't happen all the time.  Mostly, I am overwhelmed by the quality of the content I find, and I look for excuses to donate something small and still get something back (like a book or some kind of schwag) so that is some kind of support for their efforts.  But realistically, most of my heroes and role models (I mean I'm not that young - but still, the creators I admire for whatever practical reason) well, they are not being compensated.

And even If *I myself* were to donate, the fact is that the system isn't set up for such upstarts to find their proportionately supportive community.

I believe that MICROPAYMENTS are just around the corner.  It is no small miracle that internet culture is massively distributed and largely FREE.  hey - if you are at all worried about the commercialization of this "Wild West" just look at this - the more equal financial motivation is initiated - the greater the motivation for more and better (specialized, unique) content there will be!

I know that, just based on the amount of amazing and un-rewarded content there is on MY internet these days, there will be so much GOOD STUFF from underground creators that *I* AM a significantly important supporter of.  I will feel like I am a sponsor, a valuable initiator of new and exciting (independent - revolutionary) content creators.

And I for one want to be a part of the source of these new NON-OLIGARCHICAL culture diversities.

I mean, I would also get paid a few bucks.  And even if that wasn't enough to make me A STAR per se, how great would that be if we were all distant sparkles, cosmic starlings in the space-dust or cultural errata.

... it's kind of the trajectory of the MEME.  A unit of culture that is dependent on its meaning, more that (instead of!)  its author.  It's a free market of ideas and inspiration.  Ultimately.  In the meantime I believe in financially-motivation the wide-wide community of new creators.

A lot of them are millennials.  And now let us praise the new generation of subtle and distributed content.  Hip-hip-HOORAH!