More early morning musings:
For the past three decades I have been passing information back and
forth between two layers of the onion with my writing and consulting,
though I had been thinking of it as perched on a fence that divides two
fields, the field of preservation trades and building owners, and the
field of building academics, professionals and scientists. I see now
that my fence is the membrane between the layers of the onion, the
membrane that divides is the print media industry where I write for the
editors and readers, the membrane is business concept of consulting
where you have to pay me to get the information.
So, the internet is a way to tear down the fence. The old
get-your-book-accepted-by-the-big-publishing-house is a tall fence, more
like a solid wall. The self-publishing that I now do tears down that
wall (or maybe punches a door in it) and puts me in direct touch with
readers. The internet is a way to breach the membrane, to drill a hole
down through the many layers of the onion so the juicy goodness from all
the layers can co-mingle and anyone can find the juicy juice that tastes
the best.
So, the cat lover can find the cat lady and both get what they need. I
can imaging that it costs a lot more to care for a panda, but via the
internet a lot of folks with each contribute a little and pretty quick
it adds up to a cute panda in good health.
So, if you would (or would not) help a kitty and help a panda, would you
help a fellow tradesperson in need? Let's say a tradesman needs a loan
of a thousand dollars to buy some tools so he can get that next job.
Would you loan $1000 to tradesman who you do not personally know? Would
you loan him $500? $50? $25? OK, ok, how about $.25? Even though your
times are rough, his times might be rougher and somewhere along that
scale of dollars you would be willing to help that tradesman get the
tools he needs--and the internet will help you do it. Over at Kiva.org I
have set up the Building Trades Hand to Hand group:
http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=6293
and helped Khodor, a mason in Lebanon, buy the tools he needs. Some
other preservation tradespeople we know are doing the same. Which makes
me wonder if we are helping each other out in the same way here at home.
Perhaps I'll bring it up at PTN.
So, just to bring this back home, Ken, have you thought about selling
subscriptions to your book? This is the way they did it back in Ben
Franklin's day. You get a cash advance directly from your prospective
readers. If you need it I'd be willing to plunk down fifty bucks now to
get a first copy when it comes out--woooooooo, is it the power of the
internet? Or, just friends helping friends.
John
--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>
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