Secondly, all forms of media are feeling the pinch. There’s only one reason reality TV has remained regular viewing, it’s cheap to produce because its stars contribute for little or nothing – the same is true for most online content.

And if news is instantly available on your iPhone or delivered to your RSS reader from the big media companies at a click, why will people bother to pick up a newspaper let alone pay for it. The bigger question is how we have any still being printed at all. Early on newspapers were fearful of giving away their content online and tried models of charging for it, now most are wishing they hadn’t caved in to competitors who offered it up for free.

Fifteen years ago I sat in meetings as a creative director at a publishing company discussing business models for our various new web ventures and today online commerce has become viable, yet there is still no definitive approach to earning money through advertising online.

The attention span of an average adult in technologically “advanced” countries now equals that of a gnat. That fact coupled with a global recession has forced advertisers to only spend money on trackable, results-oriented campaigns.

Hopefully a new era is on the horizon. Maybe the large media companies will come together and collectively decide to charge for content again, thus saving the jobs of those who know how to research and report the old fashioned way and give us information we trust again.

I’m afraid the same is true for the craft community, if there’s so much out there online for free, why subscribe? How will print mags grow large enough to support themselves, there certainly aren’t enough large craft advertisers to make them viable.

This is a very generous and intelligent online community, if it’s members come together and work on this issue, perhaps there’s a way to save both the print and web publications we all love.

Having open discussions is always the first step in the direction of change. Perhaps you should lead the way to this new horizon Dianne, I’m behind you!

I don’t necessarily agree that the old model is dead, but I do agree that hard times can bring opportunities for those who are clever and willing to take chances.

Again, I haven’t thought any of this through beyond typing it out as it bubbles to the surface right now. Please consider and pick apart and improve if it has any merit.

As one of the world’s slow readers, I don’t have time to trawl all the online fora and journals, trying to find which supplier of sprockets people like best, or where to buy widgets. I have been online since 1990 (yes, it is possible) and yet cannot make Google cough up relevant results for me, most of the time. So I rely on ads when I’m looking for things.

I also want to stand up for rebels. I don’t like following the herd. I don’t take up a new craft because all my friends are doing it, and if I do follow someone else’s lead, I’m not likely to want to use all the same suppliers.

Advertising does have a use, remember. “The Sampler” is a form of advertising. I don’t know what the future of advertising will be, but I really do hope it has a future.

There are some other models out there like Faythe Levine’s book and documentary, Handmade Nation. Both became instant successes. People were willing to pay, and she educated the buying public about handmade items and their artists.

Obviously, from the amount of clicks Etsy gets, they’ve found a working model. Etsy has made it cool to buy handmade and people seem to be willing to pay. They are getting into the blogging scene more too.

And Diane, I thought it was the Six-Million Dollar Man too, so I’m at the nursing home right there with you! :)

And, I’m giggling my head off because the “better, stronger, faster” reference was actually about the Six Million Dollar Man! But everyone thought it was Daft Punk. Which must mean I’m officially old. :-)

The necessity to be picky and choosy about what we support is not just for those with tight budgets. I believe we all need to look more closely at the types of business practices we’re supporting. If something brand new is hideously cheap at a large chain super-store, was it made well? Did the people involved in the production of it receive fair compensation for their work?

In the internet arena, perhaps very small subscriptions paid directly to the artist or publisher (blogger, curator, instructor) for each article is the way to go. In addition, if we were obligated to pay for many of the things we read (or waste time on) online, perhaps we’d be a bit more choosy with our time.

P.S. My two fave Daft Punk songs are Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and One More Time.

the other thing, strictly with mags, is that when you pick and choose which issue you like and don’t commit to a subscription (which is often as cheap as just buying the 2-3 issues you like each year) then you’re not really paying for …how to say this… the space for the ideas and inspiration to grow. sure, not every issue will have 10 projects that appeal to everyone, but it will have some projects that appeal and it will sustain the environment for the designers, writers, editors, etc to keep producing the magazine. again, not all can afford to do this, but really– magazines are cheap! especially if you look at the cost of individual patterns ($3-$15 for some crochet/knit/sewing projects).

anyway. thanks for writing this post!