Hi there, and thank you for visiting Woulda Coulda Shoulda! I can’t come to the blog right now, because I am either away from my desk or struggling against being rendered completely incoherent with rage. If you leave me a message, I’ll get back to you just as soon as I’m done weeping for my industry and humanity as a whole.
If you are experiencing an emergency, please hang up and dial 911. Otherwise, kindly get off my lawn unless you’d like to hear a story about how back in my day, people worked hard and ate real food.
Hmph.
Oh dear… am off to read about it. Will come back with consoling/rage filled words later! I have also found that chocolate works wonders. Or bacon.
Having read the article I would like to clarify that I meant high cocoa content, organic, dark chocolate with no nasty additives!
what happened? Lemme guess: whatever the cable dude showed up to fix didn’t work? And now they have to reschedule in March and it’s gonna cost you a couple hundred bucks?
I also want to live in a world where people are paid what they’re worth, and where professionals and celebrities only endorse products they actually believe in. And for those that aren’t worth anything–shouldn’t be awarded the same as those that are. This happened where I worked and it was enough to make me look for another job. There is no right reason to pay someone the same amount that does less OR constantly messes up and someone has to go behind them to fix it while they sit back and take all the credit. I’m with ya on this one!
Mir, you rock. Seriously.
I was horrified when I started browsing the freelance job boards to see how little money people expect to pay for writing, and to see what people will do for such a small sum of money. No wonder there is so much CRAP on the internet. Really, it’s disgraceful.
But damn, I was just thinking I might join Blogher and hang out with the cool kids. Now I find out the cool kids are sell-outs, and stoopie pooheads too. I’d like to come up with something more intelligent to say but rage has rendered me inarticulate.
Wow, I so agree with you. Good for you for standing up for what you believe in. I really hope your day improves!!
Corn sugar.
CORN SUGAR?! Are you freaking kidding me? That is the most manipulative, ridiculous, irresponsible thing I have heard in a long time. That sound you hear? It’s nutritionists’ heads exploding.
Wow. I actually feel sick. But thank you for posting this and for linking and all of it. Definitely a rant-worthy moment.
I knew the corn refiners lobby was going in this direction when I saw the ad where the fellow says something to the effect ‘sugar – hfcs, it’s all the same!’ Now tell me, do those bloggers believe this hooey or are they just in it for the gift certificates?
I’ve gotta go shower…I feel dirty…
If they were just in it for the gift certificates, that would make this worse, I think.
I’m a journalist and a blogger, so the “we expect you to work hard for a pittance” mentality isn’t new to me. What is upsetting and new, though, is how so many people think it’s OK to auction off their credibility to highest of the still-way-too-low bidders. And PR and marketing people — and management at many companies — increasingly think that we’re all willing to sell ourselves short, or even work for free.
I guess if you’ve never earned a reasonable wage for your work, it seems like you’re getting a deal ($5, a gift certificate, product, a giveaway) for something you would have written about for free. Or you’re getting for free (advertorial content for your blog) something that you would have had to create on your own. But really, the end result is that working in this industry becomes harder for everyone.
I had no understanding of this part of the blogging industry, and you are so right on target with your views, -your anger is justified.
Now about that rake….?
I want to go back to ten minutes ago when I thought you were making funny with the surely-unrelated “worked hard for a living and ate real food.” Innocence is bliss…and knowledge is rage. Sigh. I’m pretty sure today is Monday, Part 2. (And NOT the complain-free kind.)
I haven’t ever been offered money for my writing, but I can see that for a first offer, $5 is 100% more than I make now. But you have a bigger point and I do see it.
“Corn sugar”? Just as a “Learning Cottage” is still a trailer, “corn sugar” is still HFCS. If I call broccoli “cookies” would it taste good enough for kids to want it?
No, My Kids Mom. If you were panhandling, 5$ would be a good offer. If you are giving your expertise, the result of your education and hard work, 5$ is an insult.
As someone who also freelances, albeit not as a writer, this issue cuts really deep. “But that’s just a few clicks on the computer for you! Why should I pay you that much?” Basically, they’re saying what you do isn’t work and doesn’t deserve to be respected as such. I’m sorry, but try paying a secretary comparably that much, and tell me how it works out. Maybe it’d work for some kid who’s just starting out, but for a respected network of professionals this is shameful.
I wrote about this after an uproar, i mean “discussion” on LinkedIn. LinkedIn contributor turned me onto this AWESOME rant by Harlan Ellison. Throws out the F-bomb now and again, but drives the point home. Takey listen:
http://returntoworkmom.blogspot.com/2010/09/would-you-work-for-free.html
OooohQ
I transcribe for different contracts from home, and it’s insane what people try to pay us per audio hour sometimes… and it’s even more sad that people will work for these prices, so I totally understand why you’re angry about that one.
Corn syrup? I just don’t care, really. As a diabetic, I got taught that any ingredient that rhymed with “gross,” I really shouldn’t eat.
chuckle. Here, have an OREO. Ooops.