Tag Archives: content mills

Writing Life: New Beginnings

©2013 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee

Changes in the Wind

Happily,  a new and unquiet revolution in the world of writing is on the wind.  Writers are increasingly realizing it is a good idea to step away from traditional content mills with good reason.  Site ranking  and revenues of various sites have fallen, punitive search engines are inferred to be the reason.   Sites shut down, or promise "change".  Writers, having been burned with severely diminished incomes, are smartly moving on to potentially bigger and better personal opportunities. Let's face it, even in the optimism of the writing life, eventually reality has to set in;  writing free content for promises of mere pennies for thousands of page views, and "maybe or maybe not" reader clicks on ads --euphemistically called 'revenue share'-- with tiny if any 'upfrontnothing' payment offered for new content  --was hardly a guarantee of  income for neophyte or professional. The disquieting and unacceptable, unethical content mill  "Terms of Service" including a self-assigned 'free license' to "use" writer's content and copyrighted material   'forever' without compensation was, and remains both arrogant and problematic.   The refusals to take down content,  --even if the author leaves the site requesting content deletion and withdrawing permission  to use the content--- is hardly ethical business practice or logical enticement to submit additional free content. "Why would that be?" you ask. Copyright infringement comes to mind.   Arbitrary theft of intellectual property comes to mind.   A clear lack of business ethics comes to mind.  Arbitrary, heavy-handed and less than stellar treatment of writers that have generated millions of dollars in revenue for content mills comes to mind. "Let us NOT write more FREE content for unethical content mills" most resolutely comes to mind.  Karma does that. How predictable.  Who says destiny isn't predetermined?  No matter. Let us cheer for common sense and Karma.

Moving On

It seems to me writers shall prevail. Writers are a hardy lot; we shall not be silenced or discouraged. The pen continues to provide power.  We studiously move onward and upward to better things, new beginnings. Publishing.  New blogs. Specialized niche websites built on new and more honest business models. High-earning, custom-written articles. Books. Self-publishing of books both in print and eBook formats is growing exponentially. Why not?  Life is what you make it and  2013 is The Year of the Writer  We  kick butt. smile. In fact, we laugh.  Life has never been better.  Why?  Great things are happening!

 

New Beginnings-  My Gardening Network  ( MGN )

Guess what?   New, GREAT projects are sprouting.   I am happy to be involved with a start-up gardening specialty website,  "My Gardening Network"   which recently went online and is already "Growing a community of gardeners' [caption id="attachment_1741" align="alignleft" width="584"] Flower garden -- photo courtesy of MGN[/caption]    My Gardening Network  (MGN) was conceptualized and founded  by outdoorsman Mike L.Williams, writer and blogger at Saturday Sunshine, (  -stories ,outdoor adventures and outdoor skills, --yes, the adventurous rascal himself ....   Mike dares to test deep waters, catch fish the hard way, and shoot rapids simultaneously  while others stand in awe. ) MGN is unique in that the content remains the exclusive intellectual property of the authors and contributors;  content on MGN  is used only with the express permission of the creators. My Gardening Network  offers specialized garden content  written by experienced and expert  gardeners --especially  for the use of gardeners at all skill levels from the neophyte starting out in the back yard to highly experienced  gardeners who may  delight in the technical aspects of botany as well as the mysteries hidden in compost.  MGN  is taking off fast.  Drop in and check out the progress of the garden at MGN -- "Growing a Community of Gardeners".      .....and this just in---more good news, MORE wonderful 'incoming' ! [caption id="attachment_1739" align="alignright" width="200"]Christy D Birmingham Christy D Birmingham[/caption]   A unique poetic voice  is published!    An amazing writer and poet, Christy  overcame the status quo and has bravely stepped out to offer her vision to the literary world. She is none other than  Christy D. Birmingham of Poetic Parfait fame. "Christyb"  as I call her, has reached her goal!  We are so proud of her accomplishment and happily offer our very  best support and  wishes to Christyb!   Christyb speaks volumes about hope and the future in her new book of poetry "Pathways to Illumination"  --an exceptional book of poetry. What becomes immediately clear is that Pathways to Illumination is written by an artistic, poetic voice flowing gently from a gigantic heart.
"Birmingham’s intense collection of poetry follows the trail of a woman’s journey from the end of an abusive relationship to the valiant growth of a newly-awakened, independent spirit. Inner light shatters layers of powerful verse....  
[caption id="attachment_1738" align="alignleft" width="200"]Pathways to Illumination Pathways to Illumination[/caption]     Pathways to Illumination is available online  in print and eBook formats NOW  at: http://redmundpro.com/book-store/pi/         At Incoming Bytes we offer the most sincere and heartfelt congratulations to Christy for her magnificent  accomplishment. ---Kudos to you, Christyb! That, people, is why life is amazing, and  why 2013 is The Year of the Writer.  The beat goes on.... #   Is that Incoming I hear?   +  
Posted in Landscaping, Writing Life, Yard & Garden | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Self-Restraint: An Admirable Vice

by raymond alexander kukkee
Time reflecting the eternal flame of hope

"Know thyself" --a fine ancient adage, and an admirable vice, is it not?

I'm kind of an old-fashioned type. I know that, and  perhaps I always have been.     I like tradition, the 'expected' and edifying practices rooted deeply in the past, simply because such things are the bleached bones of my heritage. I enjoy beautiful things. I have an Achilles' heel for pets and wildlife, gardens, trees, sunflowers, Mother Nature's creations in water, rock, and sky.  Old cannons, rich dark chocolate,  coconut trees,  toasted cinnamon bread with coffee, amethyst clocks  and pirate chests filled with gold. Loyal readers continue to amaze me, as do other writers, my friends, those incredible scribblers of all things fascinating, good, creative people who continue to challenge me to get better;  dictionaries,  sultry, hot, sexy women, and bold, self-confident thinkers. Solid-minded people displaying innovation and intelligence invariably pique my interest. Literature,  fiction, poetry, the spice of everything,  you name it, I like it. Savouring the English language is one of these rare, beautiful treasures;  the world of literature is a richly spiced jewel  that should be polished and tasted with vigour. It should be enjoyed.  That is why I write. The simple act of  creating and scribbling such tomes should equally be practiced,enjoyed, and above all, protected. Although literary perfection, Latin, and old English are now as rare as exotic orchids, -- and chests of pirate gold aren't  appearing upon the doorstep of most writers  anywhere soon,  dreams of literary elegance persist.   We dream creativity into reality. We dream of success. We work at creating beauty, fiction,excitement and perfection for those around us. For the world. For civilization. For the future. Word mills, content mills, writing traps for novices,  set up with their own self-serving agenda, show the opposite, pay no more than lip service to creativity or the practice of traditional ethics.  The industry is preoccupied with money instead. Greedy word mills  are being revealed for what they are, and as a result are displaying instability and imminent failure.  We now know it's a great idea to not only read, but understand the self-serving 'terms of service' that can be changed daily without notice.  It is ever more essential to be aware. Self-restraint is an admirable vice when testing new venues. In fact, publishing the written word in content mills, euphemistically called  'free publishing sites for the newbie writer" today, as delightful as they are, often buy the writer into a trap.    Caveat emptor.  Again, self-restraint is an admirable vice.  I'm not delighted with this trend to the brazen practice of  commandeering and theft style of  'lesser' ethics  in the industry that has been taking advantage of, and damaging the excitement and joy of creativity.    This is not a 'good' change for civilization.  We resist change naturally, but it is difficult to watch, being traditionalist in nature. Great civilizations require unparallelled  creativity and art in all forms. Should creative minds  be forced to a  constant state of alert for hosers,  thieves, profiteersless than ethical corporate interests, greedy, arrogant,  non-creative people who willfully and brazenly take advantage of  the creativity of others? The growing specific lack of ethics in the industry annoys the hell out of me. I don't like that trend. Why?   Changing to lesser ethics for profit is inexcusable. Writers, thieves and court jesters alike have their own reasons for existing. What are yours? Even if temptation lives, self-restraint is an admirable vice. Worth practicing. We can now laugh raucously.   We have diligently practiced the fine art of self-restraint with gusto;  a few months of generic self-improvementWhere the good old-fashioned rant is concerned, self-restraint is not only an admirable vice, but king.  I have no idea how long I'll be able to hold out, how about you? At times I think  I'm too polite. Is it because I'm Canadian? Call in the cavalry. Load the grape shot.   Is that Incoming I hear? *posted originally on  www.incomingbytes.blogspot.com [subscribe2]
Posted in Ethics, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment