Why I'm not making any money off this

Before I begin today’s blog, I want to ask if you’ve been enjoying my sometimes-weekly barrage of occasionally pertinent and compelling writing. 

What if I were to tell you that for a dollar a week, you can continue to receive my blog by email? OR, alternatively, you can simply keep receiving these emails for free. It’s your choice. 

I'm kidding, of course. I blog for the enjoyment, not for any monetary benefit. I’m sure there are ways to make a few bucks in the blogosphere, but I choose not to pursue them. Even if it were worth it, I’m not sure it would provide me with the same satisfaction. 

Now for some people, creating blogs and podcasts is more of a livelihood. I get that – it takes time and resources. You have to pay for their internet, right?  

Such is the predicament, so it seems, that many bloggers and podcasters find themselves in. How far can self-satisfaction take you when you’re spending 10-20 hours a week on a hobby that doesn’t offer any monetary compensation? 

It’s become particularly challenging for podcasters. As a podcast addict, I’m keenly aware of the desire to gain paid subscribers. This is an uphill battle. Unless you’re Joe Rogan (anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist and Aaron Rodgers's medical advisor), you’re not going to attract many paid subscribers or advertisers to your show. 

The best part about podcasts is that they’re free. Free to consume and (almost) free to produce. Anyone in their basement with a microphone can create one. And some do a pretty darn good job talking about things they’re knowledgeable about. 

More and more podcasters, however, ask for your support. They’ll even mention the names of people who donate to their show, which gives you an idea of how many people actually donate to their show. 

This poses quite the dilemma for me, a joyful free rider. I don’t typically like to pay for something unless I have to. And when I do freely choose to give, I prefer to donate to a charitable organization rather than some person who’s requesting my money. This Mennonite mantra - Give Freely, but Remember, Nothing's for Free - is deeply engrained into every cell of my body. 

Not to say there aren’t exceptions. I’m one of the few people who gives $5 to Wikipedia every year to keep this non-profit afloat. Since I value the lack of advertising, I feel they deserve a paltry annual donation. And let’s be honest, where would we be today without Wikipedia?

But podcasters? The guy speaking into a microphone in his basement? If they had a product that could actually sell, they wouldn’t have this problem! The thing is, their product isn’t that valuable in the world market of information. When they quit, there’s always another podcaster to take their place. 

They are but one of millions swimming in a great big ocean of words and ideas. The average person has more access to information today than ever before. Almost every newspaper now faces the same problem. The Globe and Mail wants to charge me $30 a month for an online subscription, when I can get most of their news in other places for free. And so I wait for their promos (hey, I like the columnists!). 

Blogging satisfies my need to write and, to be honest, my frail ego; to get at least some recognition for my thoughts, however strange and misguided they might be. I might write something that lacks flare or flow, or that may even offend some people, and that’s fine! Simply delete. I have no demands, other than desperately wanting you to come back the next week to read again. 

While I wouldn’t say no to a thousand dollars a month in compensation, I don't need it. (A hundred dollars a month would be fine.) 

Knowing someone, even just one person (in addition to my mom), is reading – that's enough for me. 

Government's five-star rating just dropped to four

A couple years ago I had the audacity to complain about a new e-mail feature in my Hotmail account. I admit, I was being a "difficult" customer. I could've figured it out myself, but I was in a hurry and I simply didn't like it (my Hotmail account has served me well for twenty years – why change it now?!) What I didn't expect was a personalized e-mail from a Microsoft representative with a long explanation of how to change the feature, including helpful screen-shots and even a few smiley faces. After I sent this person a thank you e-mail, she didn't hesitate to respond once more, wishing me a good day with another smiley face to boot. 

Now, recognizing this person was likely on her first day of the job, or up for some kind of promotion, I still thought quietly to myself: If only government could be so helpful.  

A politician I knew would often address a crowd by saying, "I'm from government. How can I help you?" This line was typically well-received by a crowd not used to such friendly greetings from government officials. 

Government often takes a bad rap and I can understand why. To most people, government is a nebulous entity run by faceless bureaucrats sometimes thousands of miles away. That tends to breed distrust, a feeling that's only augmented when there's no "service with a smile," as we've become so accustomed to with private businesses.  

As someone who's familiar with government (a little too familiar), I've been surprised at my own challenges in receiving a friendly government response. Not all the time, mind you – government representatives have been very helpful at times – but a few experiences in the last few years have made me reduce my five-star rating of government to four (gasp!). 

The biggest problem I've encountered, other than the 60-minute long wait times, is being fed incorrect information. In one case, three different people in the same federal department gave me the wrong advice. This misinformation could have had serious implications for the person I was trying to help. As I was told by the fourth representative, if we were to proceed as previously advised, the person I was trying to help immigrate "would be breaking the law."  

Fortunately, we were over-zealous in our double-checks and we finally got the correct information. A lone immigrant trying to work the maze of government policies, forms and misinformation would surely would have been lost – and likely back in their home country by now. 

When I ran into a second immigration issue in another department, I tried to lodge my complaint with a manager. Instead of listening to my concern, however, I got a good dose of government stone-walling. Even showing a little contrition, to assure me this wouldn't happen again to other applicants, would've been welcome – but it didn't come. 

I've heard troublesome stories from others in the last year, like a friend who recently applied for employment insurance at a federal office, thinking he would get more help than if he did it at home. When he arrived, he was directed to a computer and was told he would receive no assistance from the workers there.  

These experiences wouldn't sound so terrible in a world where the private sector was just as unresponsive or unhelpful. And in some cases, they are (Air Canada, whether it still deserves the notoriety, always comes to mind). But with businesses, customers typically have the option to go elsewhere. And with social media and a multitude of platforms to complain on, companies typically trip over themselves to please their customers. 

Government has a monopoly on many things: immigration, social services, most of healthcare and education. Monopolies are typically not in the business of pleasing their clientele, simply because they don't have to. There's only one choice when you have a medical emergency and that's your hospital's ER – you have no choice but to sit and wait. 

Now I like government and I believe most governments are trying to improve. I'm a believer in the public sector providing services where the private sector can't provide the same services equitably or at all. But governments of all stripes must be able to guide their citizens down the rabbit hole of government processes – with a smile to boot. 

Because at times it's no wonderland.