Findability: … a work has no value unless it is seen; unfound masterpieces are worthless. When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention—and most of it free—being found is valuable.
Patronage: Fans like to reward artists, musicians, authors and the like with the tokens of their appreciation, because it allows them to connect. But they will only pay if it is very easy to do, a reasonable amount, and they feel certain the money will directly benefit the creators.
From Better than Free by Kevin Kelly.
Yup, curation is really important. Many people don’t realize how much data their boadband supplier, Google, and a range of other apomediators collect about them. This is done by firms competing for our attention and our money. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an online place where the curators’ focus is our interests and the public good?
This post concludes the series on Being Better than Free, and it’s fitting that we wind down on the topic of patronage. I’m convinced citizens would show more support for their public libraries if we made it easier for them. So in addition to the other good things my proposed online town commons would provide, it must be a place where people can securely order tickets to town events, purchase goods to support local organizations, volunteer and donate money.
Kevin Kelly observes that “money in this networked economy follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuit.” The same is true for support, which will follow bold initiatives that add daily value for a broader constituency.
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