To Take or to Give

Hi there,

Today I read about the ACTA agreement leaking onto the Internet. I won't go into the actual controversial agreement (read it here) except to say its yet another (increasingly extreme) way of trying to reign in piracy of farmaceuticals, products (intellectual right materials) and (proof of) services. It is once again a sign that governments, lobbied to by corporations, are trying to gain more control over their citizens. Instead of actually trying to serve the common population, power grabbing, corruption and greed seems to rule our elite again. And naturally the more they fight, the more the common man finds reason to fight back. But that is not the reason for this blog. ACTA made me think: what if my book about Simon & Sally became free on the Internet for download and I would never see a cent in revenue for my (now 3 year old) work?

I have mixed feelings about this. The altruistic side of me sides with the Zeitgeist Movement. This means that I believe in a giving society where the reward of one's work is the helping of someone other. And once we actually live in a society where no longer everything revolves around money this would work. After all: why would I need money for a written story when I get food, drink and shelter for free? There is then even the added incentive that I would want my work to be the best possible work as I'd want it to contribute to society in a meaningful way. The reward of people intellectually or emotionally being stimulated to greater heights because of my work would by far outweigh any selfish aim of getting rich.

The ego side is that I feel creativity should be rewarded and not prostituted for a mere buck by some pirate middleman. Otherwise why create? Now, I could argue that creativity is its own reward (and it is - I feel my life enriched because of it) but that's not the argument in this case. Someone else, who did no work (or at least not as much as I did) is reaping benefits. Is it thus that easy? I don't want someone else to be richer, I want it all for myself? And by reasoning out loud like this I have an answer of my own question.

When I dig deep down in my own gut feeling I truly think: let that person have his money (or fame or glory) if that makes them happy. Sure, I won't get any richer, but I'm not writing to get rich. I have a comfortable life and don't need the mixed blessing/curse that more money brings. And besides, piracy often gives little to no money at all to the provider. Online free content distribution nowadays (especially with ACTA) is more of a risk than a means to a solid profit. Illegal distributors often distribute with the altruistic mindset that everything should be shared (believe it or not). Often free distribution goes hand in hand anyway with actual intellectual property sales. I pay for cable + HBO + Disney at my home and so I see and get to own my copy of what is broadcasted. That I don't agree with censorship in Thailand in general and HBO in specific and thus choose to download what is broadcasted so I can see the originally intended vision of the makers is more of a show of respect towards them. Furthermore a downloaded book, software or TV series more often than not spurs me on to buy the real deal. Why? Because I want to feel it. Own it. Make it my own. And nowadays where books are wrapped in plastic (in Thailand) so you cannot browse them, trial software comes with functional restrictions or costs $100 or more and TV series that are blocked from legal free viewing on the Internet because you 'don't belong to the intended region' you need assurances that what you lay your hard earned cash down for is actually worth buying and not another piece of 'planned obsolescence' crap. Yes I realize that you can borrow new books from a library and rent any new movie with Redbox for $1, but alas, we don't those options in Thailand. We have the choice between pirated products or downloading from the Internet.

Let me put it out there: I do not engage in buying pirated software, entertainment or other products and would advice everyone to do the same. They reward uncreative materialistic minds for inferior copies of products that creators worked hard on to make. Called me old fashioned, but I also like to have an actual book in my hands, so I stay away from downloading free (legal or not) copies. Software I try, and if I like it and find it adds value to my life I buy it, otherwise I delete it. But movies and TV-shows? Sorry, guys, but I pay my dues through cable and movie tickets and I demand the fully uncensored, fully creatively intended and (especially) unedited-by-commercial-breaks-every-5-minutes version of my copy. And sorry that no one in the commercial world gets this but just because they think with their greed and paranoia, doesn't mean that all the work they resell (not create!) is being resold over and over again by the common consumer. 99% of all people who actually consume a product, do so once or throw it away - they certainly don't waste their time trying to make money off of it. 

So my answer to having my work free for everyone who doesn't want to have an actual physical copy and own it, reread it or give it to a friend or family member to enjoy over and over again? Sure, copy away. Distribute it any way possible. Earn money off of it if you feel the need. I am glad to GIVE my story to readers who are interested. I am not out to take as much as I can. And if word of mouth gets out that way how good the story is, it will only serve Simon & Sally more to have future adventures of them told to an even wider audience. So trust me. Go for it.