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February 10, 2005

Bandwidth guilt

BBC -- Why I'm giving up broadband


Gradually, though, the novelty of a fast connection has worn off. Disillusion has set in. I've slowly come to a terrible realisation: there isn't really that much I can do with broadband.

and

Having nothing much to do with your broadband gives rise to a curious sensation that could be termed: "bandwidth guilt". When I'm not using it, I feel like I should be. I keep trying to find ways to utilise its sheer power - and justify the £30 a month fee. I feel bad if I don't.

Looking at the article's comments, he's not the only one.

Tip: Techdirt

Posted by eubie at 8:05 PM permalink

What if public no longer wants journalists?

New Yorker -- Fear and Favor: Why is everoyne mad at the mainstream media

Article focuses on how both conservatives and liberals have become so angry or disappointed in the media. Editors quoted in the story said it was frustrating because do much of what a newspaper publishes has becomed questioned for bias.

A better understanding of conservatives seems manageable, but there is another possibility, which is much more worrisome, at least to journalists who work in the mainstream media. It is that during the years of heavy shelling—through impeachment and the Florida recount and then the rough 2004 campaign—what they consider their compact with the public has been seriously damaged. Journalism that is inquisitive and intellectually honest, that surprises and unsettles, didn’t always exist. There is no law saying that it must exist forever, and there are political and business interests that would be better off if it didn’t exist and that have worked hard to undermine it. This is what journalists in the mainstream media are starting to worry about: what if people don’t believe in us, don’t want us, anymore?

Maybe the journalists should read JD Lasica's Why Newspapers Still Matter, but they should avoid this -- Is watching the news bad for you? -- but, of course that's TV news, not print news.

Posted by eubie at 7:54 PM permalink

Science fiction author advances

Tobias S. Buckell asked science fiction writers how much they typically receive as an advance for novels. His first published novel will be out soon.

The typical advance for a first novel is $5,000. The typical advance for later novels, after a typical number of 5-7 years and 5-7 books is $12,500. Having an agent at any point increases your advance. There is some slight correlation between number of books and number of years spent writing as represented in the 5-12.5 thousand dollar advance shift of an average of 5-7 years. Charting individual author's progressions, which I will not release to keep anonymity, reveals a large number of upward lines at varying degrees of steepness for advances, some downward slides.

Some authors noted that they'd gotten large advances in the 90s but were being paid less now.

Tip: Boing Boing

Posted by eubie at 7:20 PM permalink