To Seed or not to Seed, that is the question
By now, I assume many of you know about my current employment situation. If you have been following this blog, my other venture with Matt Beckwith, my Twitter (and my personal Twitter), as well as my Facebook with any regularity, you are aware of my new position with the Stockton Ports.
And while the prospect of income excites me, the fact of the matter is it will only patch a small part of my problem at large. So that leaves me with some searching for other opportunities to make up the difference.
That searching has brought me to some interesting places, namely AOL’s new Seed program, and a position as a freelancer with the Examiner.
Which got me thinking about the value of this new experiment in modern journalism. AOL has basically said, if you can write it, we will pay you. Which in an economy like we have today, that offer is a very tempting one to people like me, who have a journalistic background, but for my own reasons decided not to pursue it in any of the “professional” outlets in my area.
I have always been a big fan of freelancing. Call it my pioneering, American manifest destiny nature, but whatever you call it, I just do not like the idea of cranking out story after story for a paper I was committed to for the rest of my life. Choosing which jobs to take and deciding how I wanted to attack the story on my own sounded way sexier.
But with that being said, I am not sure how I feel about writing a story about “how to medicate/bathe a cat” just so I can claim the $30 bounty. Moreover, how many people are going to actually read that story? 
I guess it’s no different than blogging on a site hardly anyone reads right?
So what say you rantaholics? Do you like the idea of companies like AOL opening up the flood gates and sending screaming fans after an artist in the name of journalism? Or should we stick those who have a long standing relationship with delivering our news, but still crank out the occasional yawner. Or are bloggers the next step in the evolution of the news reporter.
Where are we going, where do you want to be when the dust settles. Does me wanting to make a little money from my words/research/opinion make me a whore?
These and many other questions will be answered in the coming months…but until then, I want to know what you think.
Anybody offering a way for people to make money and let us hear opinions of different people is a great idea, I’m tired of cookie cutter media, it’s time for the true peoples voice to be heard not the big biz that’s writing what they want us to know on the telapromter.
Man! do we need our show back so we can discuss in great lengths……So if you did this would that make you a sellout? $30.00? Money is money….believe it or not there is an audience for these type of stories….I’m not sure I would be able to stand them, but they are our there.
I agree Jon. The problem with the Seed program though comes in those who aren’t professionals and jump out after stories they aren’t qualified to cover. Then it leaves the critics, and professionals wide open to look down on anyone who is submitting content, even if it is professionally done.
Susan, we really do need our show back! And you are right as well, $30 is $30 at the end of the day, that is a tank of gas, or a package of diapers. Beggars can’t be chooses…especially in today’s economy.