I was saddened to read J.C. Hutchins’s recent post where he gave his community an update on his work.  Regretfully, for his fans (and the other folks who have been enjoying his stuff), he’s decided to give up his “free” (read:  unpaid) podcasting work for the foreseeable future and is now focusing on paying writing.  He also says that his publisher has chosen not to publish the sequels to his first novel 7th Son:  Descent.  The three 7th Son novels have been available in podcast form for several years (and they’re great stuff).

(Note:  J.C. has also written Personal Effects:  Dark Arts with Jordan Weisman.)

I don’t know J. C. other than a few chats and jokes shared on Twitter, although he did contribute to a great group project on doing great work that I published here on Broadcasting Brain a number of weeks ago.  However, he strikes me as a nice guy, in addition to being talented and one heck of a hard worker.  I don’t fault him one iota for working on things that will advance his writing career and provide  him with income.  The guy’s more than paid his dues and he’s managed to put together an amazing quantity of free content out there on the Web.  Kudos to him for assessing the situation and making the decision that is right for him.

It is sad, however, that his faith in the process that he’s used has been shaken, as per the following excerpt from his blog post:

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to make a living wage telling stories. That day has not yet come, and I fear that it won’t, unless some serious decisions are made. I’ve made these decisions, and I apologize for how this will affect you.

Creating podcast fiction does does not generate direct revenue for me. Based on anecdotal and statistical data, very few people are willing to pay for general podcast content, much less podcast fiction. Since my goal is to make a living wage with my words, the current monetization models — including in-show advertisements — will not deliver this. Dedicating time and effort to my non-fiction podcast projects will deliver equally underwhelming monetary results.

It is also apparent to me that using the Free model to promote a tangible product, such as I did with 7th Son: Descent and Personal Effects: Dark Art, does not deliver sustainable sales results. I have friends — some of whom are my best friends, the most talented people I’ve had the privilege to know and work with –  who have absolute faith in this model. I treasure their trailblazing efforts and enthusiasm. My faith, however, has been fundamentally rattled.

Put simply: The new media model viably supports only the most blessed and talented of authors. The time, effort and money I invest in entertaining you for free pulls my attention and talent away from projects that can generate revenue. While podcasting, podcast fiction, and — most importantly — your support and evangelism has positively impacted my life and career in ways I’ll never be able to fully express, I cannot continue to release free audiofiction if I wish to make a living wage with my words.

The sad thing is that J. C. recorded an entertaining and damned interesting thriller of an interview with Mitch Joel a couple of months ago where he seemed to be feeling more upbeat about, although a bit stressed by, the potential of the  Free Model.

None of us know the whole story, include all of the blood, sweat, and tears that Hutchins poured into these projects and none of us really know why 7th Son:  Descent didn’t meet the publisher’s expectations.  On the surface, you could point to one probable challenge that the publisher faced:  the entire trilogy has been available for free in several formats for a number of years, so how do you entice the average consumer to pay money for a copy? At the same time, however, there’s probably a large number of people who wouldn’t have know that and might not have been able to find it or figure out how to obtain access to the free versions.

I truly believe that Hutchins will eventually attain his goals, although it looks likely that he’ll have to come up with brand new, original material to do that.  I think he’s come too far and gained too much exposure for it to all end now and he still seems to have an excellent relationship with his publisher.  Nonetheless, if nothing else, this experience provides an interesting case study for the Free Model.

Here’s hoping that J.C. keeps getting the fast pitches and that he keeps swinging for the fences – I think this baseball metaphor still holds true.

EDIT (March 1, 2010) – Indiana Jim’s podcast #37 has a lot of great analysis and thinking about podcasters/podcast novelists working to become professional writers, citing both J.C. Hutchins and Scott Sigler (assist to J.C. for helping to score this goal).

Special guest post today by the fabulous Athens, GA band R.E.M.!

Not really, of course, but I think these lyrics sum up some of my thoughts at the moment.

I Believe

(Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)

When I was young and full of grace
And spirited – a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor not to tell

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there’s the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

(chorus)
I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor, on your honor
Trust in your calling, make sure your calling’s true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change

I believe my humor’s wearing thin
And change is what I believe in
I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

(repeat chorus)

When I was young and full of grace
As spirited a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor, on your honor
I believe in example
I believe my throat hurts
Example is the checker to the key

I believe my humor’s wearing thin
And I believe the poles are shifting

(repeat chorus)

[lyrics reprinted without permission, just like 100,000 websites do every single day]

I was pleased to be interviewed by Gail Seymour at her Paying Hobby blog.  She uses the same type of E-Mail interview that I’ve used many times here at Broadcasting Brain, but she formats the results in a more article-like structure which looks quite good.  She interviewed me from the perspective of a paying hobby.

There are a few things related to this interview that I’d just like to touch upon for a moment, just so there’s no misunderstandings:

• I do not get compensated directly for blogging at Broadcasting Brain.  I do not write paid or sponsored posts on this blog.
• I do use Amazon.com affiliate links for book reviews, but only if I truly believe that the book is worth someone else’s hard-earned cash to buy.  I disclose how I get the books that I review.
• I have used advertising on this blog, but the amount of money that I’ve “made” by doing that would barely pay for two months of hosting time.

So, the paying hobby aspect that she interviewed me about does not have to do with this blog.  It has to do with the following source of income:  writing articles on user generated content websites.

I have a number of articles on the following websites, as are listed in the Other Writing page of this blog:

Bizcovering

Socyberty

WebUpon

My Helium articles

I don’t normally talk about my articles on those Web sites because they have a different purpose that the writing on this blog.  This blog is, I guess, the place where I’m trying to build authority and make a difference in the world by pointing out valuable resources and trying to create my own content to help other people.  In Schawbel-speak, this would be my personal branding hub.

My articles on the other websites are there to generate income, pure and simple. The income from those websites will pay for my hosting and domain registration fees, plus the occasional extra.  I do not consider them to be great writing, on average.  In fact, they’re hack work, but they serve a purpose.  I generally try to keep the two types of content separated, although I will occasionally link out to one of these articles on these other websites if it will fit within the context of the blog post I’m writing.  In that sense, I may make a tiny bit of income from a blog post, but we’re talking a few pennies at best.

I am doing more article writing on those sites these days, but I intend to maintain the same kind of separation that I’ve had in place for the past few years.

I don’t know if this post was necessary, but I feel  better after writing it.

Any questions?

I don’t normally get into the prediction business, but a post by Lisa Barone at Outspoken Media got my attention and made me think about the future of social media. A Twittervention! What If There Was No Twitter? was written to suggest, among other things, that companies shouldn’t be relying solely on Web applications like Twitter or Facebook to maintain a Web presence.  Companies need to continue to maintain Web presences that they own, control, and influence.  That makes perfect sense to me.

Lisa also made the point of predicting, with absolute certainty, that Twitter will eventually die.  I think she’s right, in the sense that almost every application or website eventually dies and is replaced by something else.

I left the following comment on her blog post:

I think that Facebook could replace Twitter in a heartbeat and would probably fill the inevitable void that would appear if Twitter died.

With three possible exceptions:

1. The proliferation of apps that give Twitter’s simple platform power and flexibility (but maybe it wouldn’t be hard to handle that).

2. The limits on followers/friends (although that can be circumvented with Facebook pages).

3. Search: Facebook is the walled garden. Tweets can be found via various types of searching, but Facebook, she’s-a locked solid unless you’re really sneaky (or so I believe I’ve heard).

Just my $0.02. There are still a ton of people who don’t see the value of Twitter updates, but they’ll play around in Facebook, leaving status updates and electronic trails, until their fingers go numb. I think that’s something important to consider.

P.S. OK, I really do like (even love) Twitter. But I don’t think it will be huge crisis when it fails. I really can’t see Facebook failing.

I got thinking about this more today.  I really think that a site like Facebook is the future, not Twitter.  Facebook is “good enough” for the average user.  As technology continues to spread and complex things become simpler and easier to do, they will become mainstream.

Here’s the thing:  unless Twitter eventually becomes more functionality rich and does more than shunt text (links are text, after all) around the Web, it’s limited.  I know, I know, a lot of people are perfectly happy with the limitations around Twitter.  At the same time, a lot of people were perfectly happy with the limitations around:

• Wordperfect
• Lotus 1-2-3
• Dial up bulletin board systems
• ARCHIE, VERONICA, and Gopher
• MS-DOS
• IP addresses before domain names were created
• Two-digit years being stored in databases
• The original America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, etc.
• Usenet
• The original Sony Walkman that played audio cassettes
• VHS and BETA
• Cathode ray televisions
• Black and white televisions
• Stoves and freezers before microwave ovens came along
• DVD is on the road to being replaced by Blu-Ray

And the list goes on.

My point is that we demand not only simplicity and ease of use, but also functionality.

Twitter is a limited platform that is unlikely to evolve.  Gen Y and younger (not to mention members of Gen X and older) can do Twitter in their sleep.  But, it probably doesn’t do everything they want to do.  They aren’t into just reading text.  Yes, you can send links via Twitter, but each extra click you add is a barrier to it being used.

Facebook can basically do everything that Twitter can do, plus a whole lot more.  To some people, Facebook is the Web because it’s a portal to other things.  You can share photos on it.  You can write your notes.  You can share links.  You can keep track of your friends.  You can spend hours on it playing Flash games.  And so on.

Twitter?  You can send text messages.  But only short ones.  With links.  But unless you have an extra app loaded, you really don’t know what the links are until you click on them.

Facebook could eventually die as well.  It probably will die someday.  It has its own limits and it may yet be replaced by a better (read:  open) platform.

But which will die first?  Twitter, no question in my mind.  It may take 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or longer, but Twitter will eventually die because simple tools only last until something equally simpler, cheaper, easier to use and more powerful comes along.  We’ve seen it over and over again with different kinds of technology.  The same thing will likely happen to Facebook.  But I think Twitter will die first.

What do you think?

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Image via Wikipedia

Information is good:  we learn important new things through the books, programs, movies, and, yes, websites and blogs that we are exposed to each day.  The real time web, or even a reasonable time web, makes it easier than ever to get information quickly.  Having access to lots of timely information isn’t just good for journalists.  It’s all good, right?

One thing that I’m noticing in myself is that the mere act of consuming information can be rewarding, regardless of what it is.  I assume it’s a psychological phenomenon, a reaction to the stimuli that our brain receives, but I don’t know anything about the science behind it.

We sometimes complain that we are overburdened with too many demands on our attention.  Yet, is it possible that we actually enjoy it?

Gen Y and younger people sure seem to enjoy have a multitude of inputs to handle at once:  TV, music, texting, E-Mails, message, etc. all being done while Web browsing.  Some of us Generation X types like to have lots of stimuli thrown at us, too.  The ability to flick channels on TV, tab between browser windows and media snack or sample content can be its own pleasurable reward.

[Side note:  I've been multitasking as I've been writing this post - at least 20 times...]

I’m trying hard to think of potential benefits of this addiction to multiple stimuli, but I’m not sure if there are any less you’re a journalist, a military leader, or an air traffic controller.  At the same time, our bodies and brains were built with some kind of ability to take in stimuli like this.

Do you think that what people call “love of learning” is really just when we get a high from being bombarded by stimulation?  And does the psychological phenomenon of flow have anything to do with this?

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Today’s Thoughts From interview is a real treat for me as I was honored to have one of my favorite bloggers and authors participate in this ongoing interview series.  Seth Godin almost needs no introduction, but here it is anyway.

Seth Godin is:

• a celebrated author (Linchpin is his latest book);
• blogger (Seth’s blog is the most popular marketing blog in the world);
• entrepreneur (founding companies such as Yoyodyne and Squidoo);
• a sought-after speaker.

Seth graciously took some time out of his schedule to respond to my E-Mail interview request.  Without any further ado, here are ten thoughts from Seth Godin.

You are often referred to as a marketer.  I’ve come to think of you as a motivational author in the following sense:  you are continually (and increasingly) trying to motivate people to do good work.  You’re not trying to make them feel better and you’re not trying to give them the “x step method to acheiving A, B and C.”  You’re trying to jolt them awake and get them to do good work.  Does that seem like a fair assessment to you or is there any other overreaching arc to your work?

I think I need to combine both. The only reason there’s an opportunity to do the sort of good work you’re describing is that the economy has changed, marketing is different, good ideas spread and there’s a demand for people who make change. So, marketing still informs my work.

Which of your own books is your least favorite and why?

A long time ago I wrote a book called “email addresses of the rich and famous.” It was a goof, it was fun and at some level, it was just plain wrong.

You’ve talked about your love of food (particularly good restaurant experiences). Are you a fast eater or a slow eater?

Compared to some of the people I grew up with, slow.

Compared to many of my friends, Speedy Gonzales.

Are card games and board games underrated in this age of video and computer animation?  I know that you worked in the computer game industry a number of years ago, so I think you’d have an interesting perspective on this.

Other than sharing the word ‘game’, they’re not in the same category. The nature of competing against a human being you can see in a game that’s abstract (like Scrabble) is quite different from defeating bits and registers in an immersive 3D digital environment. Done right, both can succeed, but for me, the human element is essential for it to really mean something.

If you’ve ever played Words with Friends on the iPhone, I think you can smell the hybrid that’s around the corner.

As I understand it, your new book Linchpin talks about how to become an indispensable employee, team member, business partner (?), etc. and why it’s important to be that kind of person.  You’ve said that it was the hardest book you’ve ever written (or that it was the hardest book for you to write).  Why is that?

I think the difficulty comes from writing a book that’s personal (personal about the reader as much as me) at the same time I was challenging myself to push my comfort zone and to connect with the ideas at a more elemental level. All of that is frightening, because if you’re wrong, people don’t ignore you, they get angry with you.

When you talk to people about all of the different work that you’ve done, is there any one thing that they refer to most often?  Is it a physical book (e.g.  The Purple Cow, The Dip, Tribes, or now Linchpin)?  Is it an eBook (i.e. Unleashing the Ideavirus)?  Is it Squidoo?  Is it your blog?   Or is it something else, like a video or presentation?

Zig Ziglar used to say that his tapes changed far more people than his presentations. Generally, I’m hearing that it’s the insistent dripping of the blog combined with books that some people feel are eerily well timed that is moving the needle for them. There is no grand plan, though, just my best attempt to share whatever I can.

How important is physical fitness to you in doing good work?

I’ve been fit and I’ve been unfit, and it seems to me that the endorphins and other chemicals that flow through my brain when I’m fit tend to push me to do better work. Getting the noise in your head to quiet down a bit when you’re fit and well rested seems easier to me.

How important is it to be funny or humorous in professional life?  Can it be an advantage or is it ever a significant disadvantage?

Funny on purpose or funny laugh-at-you? Funny because you’re cracking a joke or funny because people enjoy being around you and you’re quick and good with words?

I think it’s pretty clear that humor as a stalling or a defense or an ego mechanism isn’t helpful. I don’t invite Will Ferrell to brainstorming meetings, because while he might be great on screen for 90 minutes, I’m not sure he’ll be helpful in pushing in other directions. Maybe I’m wrong…

Pretend that the Internet has been destroyed overnight. What do you do when you wake up the next day?

Check my email!

Discover that it’s not working.

Get a real job.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

Go. Make something happen. Ship. Do work that matters. Ship again. Make a difference. Ship.

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