Monday, September 27, 2010

"I'll take liberty," or, better yet, I'll take your work and generate ad revenue.

I think Newbius has a point about this.

Newbius writes in an email:

Mike,

I am removing "I'll Take Liberty" from my blogroll. See http://newbius.blogspot.com/2010/09/blogroll-update.html for the reasons. Right now it just looks like he is trying to generate ad revenue off of your work, and the work of Bob Wright and others. I'm not playing. I would rather support you directly than to support someone who is just playing parasite to your host.

Regards,
Newbius

15 comments:

Dedicated_Dad said...

I'm not seeing any ads - but then I use the Firefox *FREE* "adblock" extension so I rarely do.

If anyone's seen the peanuts gained from Adsense (the only ad AB says exists) you can be sure that the proceeds aren't even covering hosting fees. *NOBODY* is getting rich on that deal...

Further, only short snippets are presented with links back to the originating site for the rest -- thus ensuring that authors get credit *AND* hits for their posts.

Personally, I wouldn't have a problem if they want to add my site -- it might get me hits I wouldn't have gotten otherwise, and gives us one-stop reading for all the blogs I read anyway.

If they were posting full articles - thus depriving bloggers of hits and revenue - it would be different.

Personally, I don't see this as a problem - and it COULD even be a benefit!

DD

PS: How is this different from Drudge, Insty, or any other of the myriad "aggregator" sites?

The only difference I can see is that this is the only one focused on the IIIper community.

Again - PLEASE add my pathetic little blog!!

DD

Pat H. said...

Yes, that Threepersphere just started recently. I looked for a way to block it, unsuccessfully.

Anyone else know how to block it?

348 said...

I don't see anything wrong with threepersphere.

It's no worse than say Google News, all it does is put short clips up and then links back to the original site.

It does, however, support the whole "We Are Everywhere" meme. It shows all the places that threepers are, giving them links.

And even if it appears in your eyes to be theft, what about that disability check that comes from taxpayers? At least threepersphere is doing something, even if it's small, for the money.

Anonymous said...

That guy's reply was kind of: "I know you are, but what am I".

Good grief

ThreeperSphere said...

I'm sorry you feel that way. Please see my note at ThreeperSphere.

Anonymous said...

I understand the critisism, but for me there are other blog sites of info OT I want to see also. Now, if I get this from Liberty in a list of these sites with a brief info, ok, somebody took the time to do this. I support Mike too and I am not playing either. So, for me to get snipits of info from other sites and this guy makes a couple of bucks. Get real, this is a capitalist system, so it is your choice. I choose where my $$ goes. If he/she has the time to do this often enough, makes some $$ and most of the links are for sites I look at, ok fine. I don't think he/she is doing anything but creating links to a lot of info on one one site. I don't see that he/she is using this info other than a links. Maybe I missed something, but didn't seem that way. Better to have too much info than not enough. So for my 2 cents, sorry 25 cents worth, forgot the defaltion I'll keep his link coming.
VETTOM III

Rollory said...

I seem to recall your doing something very similar at the start of this place - reposting practically every post from WRSA and maybe a couple other places in full every time. I made a comment at one point about it, suggesting that simple links be used more often, so that people reading each of the sites weren't constantly re-encountering exactly the same content. I remember your response was that you had your way of doing things and weren't going to change.

That threepersphere site (which I hadn't seen before) looks like it's doing the same thing, only less so. It's automatically grabbing the first few paragraphs from lots of places, forming a sort of generalized index of discussions on topics common here. This is possibly useful/interesting to some, and to the extent it generates ad revenue, it's a fair payment for the service being performed.

I don't know how you can complain about him stealing content given the combination of your own past good-faith actions and what that site is actually doing.

Anonymous said...

"I'll Take Liberties" with the intellectual property of others. ;^]

One of the few benefits to growing older is the development of a well-refined BS detector.

My first reading of Jennifer III was unfavorable and subsequent events have done nothing to alter my initial impression.

MALTHUS

Anonymous said...

I don't see the problem here.

The Drudge Report, for example, is nothing but a page of links to articles from all around the world. The links are chosen by Matt Drudge and often reflect a point of view which the left loves to hate. Even while Matt Drudge may write a fresh headline to accompany those linked articles, he doesn't even provide commentary on them (unlike HotAir). Yet, The Drudge Report boasts more visits per year than there are people in the world. Matt might be making some money from ads, but he is also steering people to articles they wouldn't ordinarily have found on their own.

What is wrong with providing a "hub" website which contains little more than links pointing to a similar theme? If anything, it should steer traffic to Sipsey Street, not detract anything from Mike or his work.

daniel said...

If the Jennifer 3 site helps my words reach one person who decides to take some justifiable action to restore liberty, all ads are forgiven.

For now, they are pretty annoying I have to admit.

Doc Enigma said...

Checked out the "ThreeperSphere" site...nothing is being stolen...$3 a month is nothing...as long as it's being put back into the fight (this fight being electronic media), what's the big deal?

Here's the bottom line: The 'Three Percent' is a movement, and as such, it has many, many information outlets. We either better learn to be just a bit more tolerant (meaning 'live and let live') of each other, because if we don't, when push comes to shove, we're not going to make it out of the first big 'die off'.

Think about it: We have three major objectives: 1: Restore the Constitution (in government and in practice of daily life), 2: Never, ever? give up our arms and 3: Drive all collectivists out of office and our nation, peacefully, if possible.

There's lots of room in there for different information conduits, different perspectives, and different methodology, so long as we do not violate the above 3 directives, right?

Besides, in this economy, making any money at all is a good thing. And I know of where I speak, being the designer of the "Threeper Patch" that now resides on coffee cups, t-shirts, and so on that someone else is using to make a buck...hopefully to throw back into the fight!

Next subject.

EJR914 said...

I don't really have a problem with it.

Concerned American said...

One other comment, in amen to Doc Enigma's piece:

In a worldview of value for value exchange, Mike and others could ethically go the "subscription only" route of Murdoch's News Corporation and others.

They don't.

Think of the value provided by Reynolds/Instapundit, Drudge and others.

Pure (or almost pure) linkage, for free, supported by ads.

Those places have changed the world for the better, in large part by killing traditional print and broadcast media here and elsewhere.

If somebody wants to try to monetize a site based on fair use snippets and linkage back to freedom-related source sites (which in turn are often more linkage than original thinkage), peace be with them.

The Devil's afoot, lads and lasses, and counting pennies as Scratch approaches is a fool's errand.

Respectfully,

Just another girl giving it away for free

Newbius said...

I am going to consolidate my 2 comment responses from my blog here to refine what my point is. Please forgive the cross-posting:

To me the issue isn't about how much revenue you generate on ads. It is the principle of utilizing other people's intellectual property for your own gain.

I would think that someone who professes to be a "threeper" and who claims to understand the fundamental issues of Life, Liberty, and Property, would grasp why I am objecting.

I'll reiterate. I may be off base here, and I am OK with that.

Look, we all link around to each other, usually with our own commentary added, and that's fine.

When "Jennifer III" had a Wordpress blog, it was on my sidebar, as was the current site until yesterday. If I want an RSS Reader to feed me links to sites I go to anyway, I can get it done another way without having to filter out the ads, whose revenue is not shared with the source (royalties, anybody?).

Oh, and double-check the "Fair Use" laws again, I am pretty sure there are limitations on Commercial Use without written permission...

I have no personal beef with "Jennifer III". I am just objecting to the "ThreeperSphere" site's current composition, which gives the impression that the originating authors like Mike V, Pete @ WRSA, and the other authors linked there support, contribute to, and/or benefit from being linked there.


I'll add this to the above: I am aware that things are usually tight at Mike's house. However, Mike doesn't use advertisements here, even though the incremental pennies that they would generate might help him. A link from "Sipsey Street" is usually good for several hundred additional hits per day, according to my Sitemeter. This might only generate enough money to cover hosting for a mirroring site. It might not cover expenses at all. I don't know, since I use free tools to get my words out and do not run ads.

What I do know is this, I am not in this for the money.

I am in this to exchange ideas, to teach the uninformed, and to have an outlet where I can vent without destroying my marriage or my friendships. My hope is that Jennifer III's heart is in the right place on this one. For now, I will stand by my decision.

I remain open to the idea that I am wrong on this.

Pax,

Newbius

Jennifer said...

Jennifer Falconvale...that name no longer has any meaning for me.

ITL, threepersphere, even the old blog at wordpress.com are in the deletion process.

jafalconvale@gmail.com is deleted, don't send any mail to it.

All I did by revealing my untrue nature is become a man in a dress to your eyes. It was at that point that ITL went into the toilet, readership dropped drastically, more than half of subscriptions unsubscribed.

I'm dead to you all, better that way for all of us methinks.

Happy trails,
Jennifer