[Search-l] "directory" vs. "search engine"

[Seth Finkelstein]

On Wed, Jun 13, 2007 at 02:31:53AM -0700, Jason Calacanis wrote:
> On 6/11/07, Nitin Borwankar <nitin at borwankar.com> wrote:
> > There are different kinds of bloggers.
> > Those who
> > b) have "fun" blogging AND are self employed due to ad-revenue (and
> > possibly premium subscription revenue) from blogging
> 
> Nitin: You nailed it. We paid 300 bloggers a month when I was running
> Weblogs, Inc. (which produces Engadget, Joystiq, Autoblog, etc). So,
> there is a model between work for free for fun, and get paid and hate
> your job. 

	Hmm ...

http://www.blogherald.com/2005/08/29/time-for-a-long-cold-shower-on-blogging-pay-rates/
http://www.blogherald.com/2005/08/26/weblogs-inc-pay-rates-revealed-by-disgruntled-potential-recruit/
http://www.metafilter.com/44548/Weblogs-Inc-Contract#1021977

	Now, now, Jason - you're a businessman. I'm sure you don't
pay more than the market will bear. Which is better than zero, of
course, where relevant. But still, a job's a job.

> Frankly, I find it crazy that folks would work for free for a
> venture-backed company when sales people, CEOs, programmers and
> others are getting paid--but that's just me.

	People sell flowers at airports for the greater glory of
their guru. Real-world economics is a complicated topic :-).

> ...today I'm thrilled to announce that you can create search results
> at Mahalo.com and get paid for doing them! More details here:
> 
> http://greenhouse.mahalo.com/

	Piecework! Yet another old business model brought to digital
sharecropping :-).

-- 
Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  http://sethf.com/
Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php