Kiwiblog

Whale has blogged about the Get Frank site, and use of bloggers material.

A number of bloggers back in 2007 gave permission for Get Frank to to use some of their posts on their site. At least one blogger was told:

as our adver­tis­ing grows we will be offer­ing all con­trib­u­tors the chance to take 50% of all adver­tis­ing rev­enue from their page(s) on a CPM basis.

I was one of those bloggers who gave permission. I can’t recall whether or not my e-mail made any mention of revenue sharing. I suspect I said yes on the grounds of liking to help a new site.

But Get Frank has gone on to be commercially successful, and the Bloggers Union (which is compulsory – like student associations) has been saying that those who provide the content should be getting a share of the revenue, which has been declined. So Whale has gone to war in his normal subtle way.

By coincidence, I had noticed around six months ago that Get Frank were still using my content and I made a mental note to myself to email them at some stage and say I think it is time to stop using my content, especially as I do get advertising revenue on my own site. But it was not a priority so I had not got around to it.

This flare up has been the catalyst for me to do so, and hence the permission has been terminated.

Cactus Kate has blogged on this also.

I blog primarily because I enjoy having a say. I do make some “pocket money” from advertising but on an hourly rate it would come to less than the minimum wage. So my motivation is not commercial. But I’d rather increase the money I made from my content, than have others do so, and receive nothing at all myself.

If Get Frank (or anyone) are interested in a commercial relationship in the future, my door is open.

A blog for the NZ Bloggers Union has been launched. The Union is compulsory, just like student associations. They explain:

If you are reading this and are a blogger based in or from New Zealand, then you are automatically a member. No matter your political persuasion, you are all members and we will be YOUR voice for Election 2008 and we will be YOUR voice for any other issue that takes our fancy. There is an objection clause if you choose to not take up membership but you will need to apply to the NZBU HQ and we will decide each case by merit – but who would want to leave when you will have a collective voice against the evil forces during election time.

Now they have reasons for their compulsion:

1) We need to be compulsory so that we represent every blogger. If we were fragmented we could not claim to represent all bloggers and would lose our voice!

2) It needs to be compulsory because we provide services to our members and cannot have freeloaders.

3) Paying levies is just like paying taxation. We provide services just like a government does. You cannot opt out of paying tax just like you cannot opt out of paying levies.

4) If membership was voluntary, nobody will join and everybody will lose out.

5) The vibrant blogging community would die out if we didn’t have a compulsory bloggers union.

Those arguments sound very familiar.

The NZBU will speak for and on behalf of bloggers like Jordan Carter, Tony Milne, The Standard, Robinsod, 08wire, No Right Turn, Jafapete, Sonic, Frog Blog, Public Address as well as other bloggers from all political persuasions.

That’s very good of them to agree to be represented by the Bloggers Union. Oh wait they had no choice. Just like all those students forced to join their student union.