What's It Worth To You?

 

A Facebook dialogue in the past couple of days, about money, energy, exchange, things being "free"...

Me/Miseducation Nation: Seriously folks: I like doing the ferreting to keep this page updated-I used to do this when I was a Radio New Zealand news writer/editor & we do need one place for people to get info, share news, resources etc. But it takes time & I need some income. Who'd be willing to contribute $$ to have me update this page twice a day, 7 days a week? I need $200/wk to make this viable. What do you say - is it worth it to you?

Response: You're saying ya want us to pay you to maintain your face book? I think you're fucking high.

Me/Miseducation Nation: nah... not high - broke!...providing a service, and wanting to know if you value it enough to recompense me for my time (I have a 7 year old son to feed and house and am, like many, un/underemployed!)... here's my qualifications... www.metamind-creative.com

Response:  Nope. Not a bit. Shut it down if its too tough. What you do- just like me... is provide your own point a view. Its YOUR luxury-not mine. I read your posts- i make an effort to understand your point of view- the time i give - is all i've got for you. Ya wanna pay me for posting? My shit is infinitely more interesting. I have a 13 year old. I live on virtually nothing- but do i suppose my ranting outta be a paid for thing? haaa haaa not fuggen likely. If ya cant afford to do it- stop. What you've been posting- you've been posting FOR you. Dont kid your self man- we all have our own points of view.
          
Me/Miseducation Nation: Actually ______ - its not my page - its TFTs and he started it hoping lots of people would post stuff from all over the country; he asked me if I would co-admin it with him (us both having been kicked off NBC's Education Nation facebook page...)... 

And I dont know how long you've been here, but since the beginning I've been doing the bulk of the posting and I've been careful to put stuff from everywhere, so that people know what's going on in other communities. I DONT POST PRO-REFORM STUFF - this page was not intended to be a neutral zone... 

Those of us working against deform need a central clearing house of information, need to find out whats going on so we're not reinventing the wheel and duplicating effort, and also need to share our limited resources - data, ideas, moral support, media contacts etc - where we can... and I am doing here what I once had a job doing for Radio New Zealand... If I wanted to, I could spend all day here putting new info up... there's plenty out there in the most obscure places and Knowledge is Power... 

I think I give value in what I do here - I've had plenty of feedback to that effect from various people around the country whom I have been able to help in their own deform pushback efforts... if you dont value it, that's fine... and its cool if people dont want to support these efforts... I was hoping to be able to continue to do more, but I need to make an income for us and time I spend here is time not spent on other income-hunting activities... 

I think stopping this deform agenda is pretty much the number one priority we should be focusing on because its not about ed reform - its about completing the process where this country becomes a plutarchy from top to bottom... which is why I am so passionate about this... and I dont think there is anything wrong with trying to put food on the table while working for a worthwhile cause...

           
Response: Hell nah Bro- Its a wonderful thing! I LIKE what you do. Swear to darwin that's true... but why are ya doing it? To make a profit? Look man, i have no beef with you or your message. I read your posts with some... frequency. Its a little uh... like pancakes and syrup to me- not... not good- but a leans a bit towards monotony. That's my opinion. You need to decide if your message is worth it- not me. Right? I mean- that's tyhe point of being free. Don't think i aint listening- but i wont be paying for the education. There's 5 million face bookers- and you think yours oughtta charge admission? Why? Becaue you take the time to inform me of what you think is wrong with the world? Look- you perform a service. No doubt. But does the value lie in your having the ability to spread YOUR message as you see fit? Or in me consuming it? If your qwest- your enlightment and unblindfolding all of us isnt enough... you might make a buck driving a bus. Ya see what I'm saying? My page has info- philosophy- art- music- la la la- it has shit on it too- I am no less diligent than you... but i get that there is as much value in me be able to speak my peice- as in anyone agreeing, or... uh... 'subscribing' to me. Face book is a free gig- That is at the core of it- ya wanna blog for money? Find the right place to do it. You're smart- well informed- et cetera- but i aint asking ya to pay pal me donations- because I potentially 'educate' ya. I wont pay cash for what ya do. That's my answer to you. I will take the time to see what youre up to- I will use the information you provide to make my own decisions. I really dunno what else ya could ask of me- Its all about- being Free.
           
Me/Miseducation Nation:  its cool, ______... I am just looking/searching for ways to make ends meet to feed my kid and keep a roof over our heads...

In the indigenous way, people would trade stuff with me for what I do - its an energy exchange, an acknowledgement of value... In this world, money is the symbol of the energy exchange...

 

I dont, for example, believe in volunteering in the way this world works - see here for thoughts on that...http://sahilachangebringer.blogspot.com/2010/05/volunteering-service-or-exploitation.html...

Life is a huge circle of energy moving around, and at some point the energy I put out will come back to me (and it wont be directly reciprocal), but I do have a responsibility to do what I can to take the initiative in that... 

I'm getting a respectable number of daily hits on my blog, but I wont monetise that and subject my readers to advertising they have not chosen to search out/be exposed to... 

Nothing is "free" in the world - natural or man-made. Whatever and everything that happens is a transformation/exchange of energy, and I am wanting to live more in that realisation... 

I do this "work" because it needs to be done, if only as an act of "witnessing" ... but its not enough to say (especially in this world of crass and stubborn denial of our interdependence) that it has/is its own reward and it would be out of integrity for me to pretend, given our circumstances, that it does and its all OK...
           
Me/Miseducation Nation:  Actually _____ - I owe you a "thank you" for being the impetus that has made me really think this through... 

Maori have a tradition (as do most other cultures) where you leave a "Koha" - love offering - at any gathering or as a recognition of an energy exchange between yourself and anyone who is doing something for you... 

I used to teach meditation/spiritual development classes in New Zealand and Australia and didnt set a fee because I didnt want lack of money to be the reason keeping people from participating.   I asked people to leave a Koha if they felt so inclined... people left money, incense, CDs, fruit and vegetables, cakes and cookies, silk scarves etc... 

Here in Seattle I set a fee for an 8-week series of 2-hour workshops I run in Fall - a mere $5 per person per time. But again, I couldnt make ends meet, and so one day I asked my adult students to leave what they thought the time and energy and knowledge was worth... they all started leaving $30 and $40 per session... a good lesson there for me in how I undervalue my contribution to the greater good, and how I "martyr" myself and sacrifice our welfare in the mistaken belief that I am doing good for others. 

There's a coffee shop here called Mosaic, which offers food and drink at no set price - you pay what you think its worth... some days I pay what I know is the going rate, some days I dont have any money to pay so I dont, and other days I feel affluent and secure enough to pay 2-3 times what is the going rate... 

But the point is - none of it is "free" - its all energy being transformed... just as Facebook isnt free really - how do you think the creator became a billionaire? Off our energy and time and connections, which he was able to translate to valuable data and to trade with other businesses...