Last year when I visited my town, I met some of my friends who are writers and poets by passion. Though writing is not their profession, they are too good writers and poets in our native language. It’s mesmerizing when I read their poems or stories, the way they express and the happiness they share when they speak about it in our get together. I really see the passion in them that they never cared about monetizing the skill and whole heartedly publish in social networking site like facebook without any expectations.
In the digital age, the accessibility of information has led to a culture where many skills, such as writing stories or composing poems are shared freely online. While the democratization of knowledge is undoubtedly a positive aspect, the question arises: should every skill be freely available? In my opinion these skills should not be offered for free, specifically writing.
The Undervaluation of Creative Work: When individuals consistently offer their creative works for free, it can contribute to the overall undervaluation of artistic endeavors. Writing, be it in the form of stories or poems, requires skill, time, and creativity. By providing this content for free, creators may unintentionally communicate that their work has little or no monetary value, perpetuating the notion that creative efforts are not worth compensating. By doing so I think they are loosing their face value too. It’s like a singer is singing on the internet road and people just under estimate him/her as a beggar.
Creativity flourishes when creators can dedicate time and effort to perfecting their craft. By attaching a monetary value to their work, writers can afford the time and resources necessary to produce thoughtful and well-crafted pieces. They can get motivated with their work and art. A skill can die in long run when intelligent people don’t get appreciated for their work. Money is a bigger motivation and better than likes, claps or comments as it has The livelihood factor. If there’s no perceived value in the output, people may be less motivated to improve and refine their abilities.
Balancing Accessibility and Value: While advocating for the value of skills, it’s important to strike a balance between accessibility and compensation. This doesn’t mean that every piece of content should come with a hefty price tag, but rather, creators should be mindful of the effort they put into their work and consider fair compensation for their skills but I strongly urge them to not publish anything and everything valuable for free all the time. By doing so they actually not only value less to their work but they undervalue them selves and their work.
Conclusion: In a world where digital content is abundant, recognizing the value of certain skills, particularly in the realm of writing, is crucial. While sharing knowledge freely has its merits, there is a need to acknowledge the effort and expertise that go into creating quality content. By placing a reasonable value on skills, we can foster an environment where creativity is both celebrated and sustained.
I thought a lot of about it and then finally decided I will continue may be writing for free here in medium as a critic to many do’s and don’t and for some of my ideas that needs some marketing effort. But The skills that value a lot in my life, the experiences that mattered to me most, whether it’s a One pager story or a small article or life experience that I learnt, will be sharing in Gumroad or some paid platform. Here is my first premium article that I published if you agree with me want to get motivated by act https://ersandeep.gumroad.com/l/motivation
