The Culture of Free

There's been a lot written about "the culture of free" on the internet.

About how Napster spawned the expectation of most consumers that they can get great stuff for free online, and how newspapers and any company trying to make any profit at all have been trying to combat it ever since.

About how "if you're not paying for the product [Google, Facebook], then you are the product".

About how journalism is struggling to stay afloat, relevant and high-quality in a deluge of content-farming clickbait sites paying zero dollars for content.


I am part of the problem. I love my favourite podcasts but have so far not donated to a single one. (I tell myself I will). I use Wikipedia all the time, and I would like to keep it free of ads, but I have not contributed to their $3 fundraiser (I tell myself I will).

I have one online newspaper subscription, to Fairfax, which gives me full access to The Age and the Australian Financial Review for a very reasonable amount (which I suspend when funds are tight). I used to also have The Australian, but I let that go a couple of years ago when it became just too ridiculously right-biased even for my fairly elastic tastes.

I used to have an online subscription to Vanity Fair (jeez, a lifetime ago - who has time to read those articles now?). And I gave myself a three-month print-and-online subscription to New Scientist for my last birthday, which I plan to cancel - not because it's not excellent, but because it's expensive. I know buying a print magazine almost every week is more expensive, but an odd thing happens when you take up a subscription: you stop reading the bloody thing. Why it is I eagerly bought and read every issue at the newsagents for premium dollars for years, and now have 10 issues unopened from their plastic wrappings and the app barely accessed on my phone I just don't understand, but there it is.

I read lots of books on Kindle, and I buy a few songs from iTunes. (I know, Spotify, Pandora etc - I'll get there).

But apart from those things, I don't pay for anything I consume online.  (I don't torrent movies, or try to get around paywalls - I just stick to the free stuff).

I read newspapers, Slate, Cracked, Buzzfeed, Salon, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Jezebel, Freakonomics, i09, Forbes, New Scientist, Meanjin, Daily Science Fiction... and anything else interesting I get from Twitter or elsewhere. All excellent content, all "free" for now.

I know it's going to get worse. Pop-up ads are getting more intrusive, especially on mobile devices - many are virtually malware. It has got to the point where you just can't finish reading a '15 celebrities who...' list without giving up in disgust. Honestly!

And yet I am part of the problem.

To be honest I'm not sure Napster is to blame, or that it even started with the internet. In my youth I loved PBS Public Radio and I was happy to hear every second song interspersed with earnest pleas for donations, and I never donated anything (I always told myself I would).

You see I always think: what if I donate and this thing doesn't survive - I've lost my money.
And even less nobly, I think: enough other people will donate, it will be OK.
And sure enough, next week's podcast contains a heartfelt 'thank you so much for contributing, you guys are great and we are so thankful!' and I can relax a little and know that my favourite podcasts will continue.

I know - I'm not proud of it.


Today I clicked a link from Twitter to this article (see pic below). You will note an extremely reasonable - nay, awesome - subscription deal offered by the Boston Globe. You get 5 free articles, or you can subscribe for 99c - for all access, forever! (or possibly for just one year, but either way, awesome).

And I thought: Let's just see how the five articles go first.

Do you pay for stuff online, donate to sites and podcasts, or freeload? Is it freeloading, when the stuff is offered ostensibly free?

Why I bribe my kids

My favorite podcast is Freakonomics ("the hidden side of everything"). They cover topics like "Does religion make you happy?" (yes), "What do King Solomon and David Lee Roth have in common?" (use of game theory), and my personal favorite, "The upside of quitting" (let it go, let it go..!)

Last week their topic was "Why you should bribe your kids". (transcript here).

This was timely because I have just recently started paying my kids to eat vegetables.

I tend to think like an economist, so I have no problem with this. That is, I believe that (a) people respond to incentives, and (b) it is very, very difficult to get people to do things that they don't want to do, without them.

Of course, I am slightly uncomfortable with it. I would prefer to have my kids eat vegetables because I have modelled healthy eating, because I am a tough parent ("eat it or starve"), and because I have structured our lives and our menus in a way that the kids have learned naturally to enjoy their vegetables. But I have tried all of these things - some of them even consistently - and I know only that they involve a constant uphill battle for correspondingly little payoff. (See? economic thinking).

Bribery is not my only MO.

I hide vegies too. My kids love mashed potato. They only recently found out that I have always made it with half potato, half cauliflower.  I have chopped up green and orange vegetables so tiny you can barely see them, and mashed them into mincemeat burgers, only to have eagle-eyed seven-year-olds screech "What's that?" after taking one bite. I have mixed too many pureed vegies into bolognaise sauce and made an unappetizing grey gloop that even I didn't want to eat.

I heard a CSIRO scientist on the radio a couple of years ago say he lets his kids pour chocolate sauce on their vegetables, because eating vegetables is that important. I've never done that (my kids have enough chocolate in their lives), but I have simmered green beans in butter and honey (delicious!) and served broccoli with honey drizzled over the top (meh).

I've coated Brussels sprouts in breadcrumbs and toasted them - or fried them. I've made fritters out of flour, vegetables and cheese that are goddamn delicious - all to fairly unenthusiastic reception.

I have kept up serving vegetables, and tried to keep them varied, and I've tried to keep mealtimes light-hearted and natural (don't want to create an eating disorder!)  I've put various vegies on the table and said "You just have to eat one green thing and one yellow thing."

I've taught them how vegetables make them strong, and keep their innards working, and help them go to the toilet. I've told them stories about people who didn't eat vegies and got sick, or didn't grow. I've waxed lyrical on the satisfying crunch of a lettuce slice in a burger, or the tangy sweetness of red capsicum in a taco.

I've served up something I know they won't want, but might actually like, and said "You just have to have one bite. But if you like it, you can eat more, if you want."

And all of these things work a bit, and so I keep going with them all.

But I've had the most success yet the times when I've piled up their plates and announced: "I'm paying 50c per vegetable today", or "Three bucks to whoever eats ALL their vegetables tonight."

I am quite sure that many people will think - or comment - "Wow, when I was a kid we just ate what we were given", or "I don't offer my kids any alternative" or "If they don't eat it for dinner I give them the leftovers for breakfast". All that is great, and if these are your methods and they work, then that's great.

I too, as a kid, ate what I was given for dinner, and I didn't always like it.  I can't remember if I ate all my vegetables. I probably did, or at least ate most of them. I don't remember complaining.

But times have changed and the way we run our lives and food has changed. Kids get more to eat now, and more variety, and yes, that makes healthy dinners harder.

So I'll stick to my mix of tricks: all the things mentioned above, plus bribery a couple of times a week, until the healthy habits stick.

Do you / did you bribe your kids?

Mmmmmm, vegetables...

I must confess... I'm trying something I don't know if I can do

I must confess... I am a bit poorly today. The family has been sick with this bronchial thing that has been sweeping Melbourne, and though I thought I had escaped it is now my turn.

I should be sleeping instead of blogging, so I must confess I am going to tap this out FAST and get into my bed.

For those who know me it's no secret I have long harbored writing ambitions. I must confess, those who know me have long stopped expecting me to do anything about it.

But a couple of months ago I started toying with a young adult novel, and I have written... half of a first chapter. I must confess I have become stuck, and am easily distracted reading writing tips and saving writing websites to my new writing folder in my browser favorites. I must confess I spend too much time 'researching' my central theme and plot points and too little time writing.

I must confess I follow writers on Twitter and try to glean wisdom from their tweets and websites, and I spend too much time trying to work out their age and incomes and free time relative to mine. I must confess I know full well no one else is swimming in money and free time and the only real difference between them and me is they are actually WRITING.

JulieJordanScott/Flickr

I could write if I had a river

However, I must confess I have AT LAST taken some small steps. I fired off a 25-word fiction story to a magazine (baby steps...) and have entered the Australian Writers' Centre Shortest Short Story Competition. You can too - it's here.

I also found inspiration from the Write On linky at BabyBaby, and have started two short stories based on her word prompts. Alas, they are not finished, so I haven't been able to link up anything. But one day...

So that's my confession. What about you? Go on - confess. 

The link is here:  I must confess...

I must confess

I must confess... I love your blog

Oooh, tricky. I've been looking for a linky I can get into for some time, since a couple of my favourite ones wound up, and have decided to try out this one.

The linky is "I Must Confess..." by Kirsty at My Home Truths, this week hosted by Rhianna at A Parenting Life.

But, I suppose fittingly enough for a confession theme, this week's topic is a bit difficult.

It's "blogs you love".

I like lots of blogs, but I can't list them all here. I also don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or have anyone whose blog I read think I don't like it.

(Fact: if I read or comment on your blog, I like it).


My blog reading and tracking is also a bit of a mess at the moment. Here are all the ways I am following blogs at the moment:

• updates on my Blogger dashboard
• blogs I've liked on Facebook
• blogs I've subscribed to by email
• blogs I catch up with via Twitter
• blogs I've followed on Bloglovin
• blogs I've linked to on Networked Blogs
• clicking on blogs listed in my sidebar
• clicking on blog shortcuts I've saved to my phone's home screen
• clicking on links I've saved to my browser favourites

So I'm a bit all over the place, and not all the blogs I follow/like are even listed on my sidebar.

I'm also not going to list ALL my favourite ones here - it would take too long. So here are just a few, that I tend to read most often.  In no particular order:

Cranky Old Man - Joe worked in finance and is cranky, so I relate to a lot of his thoughts. He is also prolific, posting every day and always good, funny, thoughtful stuff.

 You Learn Something New Every Day - I really like this premise (as it's true) and the way Emily has structured her blog, each post reminding us of this simple, pleasing fact.

My Unwelcome Stranger - Denis blogs about life seen through the lens of living with serious illness. As he is also a historian his blog is beautiful with memories, culture and history, as well as general observations. 

A Patchwork Life - Tracey does beautiful crafts and takes equally beautiful photos, making me realise for the hundredth time how crap I am at photography. She is also often parenting alone - like me!

 Adventures of a Middle Aged Matron - Anna writes about life as a vicar's wife and parent to teenagers and her writing is absolutely top-notch. Lovely blog.

 AMFYOYO - Meggsie's blog is simple, very well written, and great. She doesn't write as often as others, but every post is a gem. She's also honest in a real way, with complaints about her husband and kids that make you gasp, laugh and nod all at once. Great reading.

Also:

The Plastic Mancunian - makes me snort out loud. Read his latest on email.

Blurb From the Burbs - come back, Kath!

Princess Pandora - life from a (usually) different perspective to mine

Decoding the New Economy - the kind of economic analysis I love

And:

Blue Milk, Science of Mom, Caro and Co, Life in a Pink Fibro.... but really, I must stop.

What are YOUR favourite blogs? 

(Apart from this one, of course..!)

Link up to A Parenting Life here

The usual location of I Must Confess: