A Rebuttal to The Concept of FREE, by Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson, Editor of Wired
(James Duncan Davidson, Flickr)

Chris Anderson is the celebrated author of two books and the editor-in-chief of Wired magazine. In his book, Free: the Future of a Radical Price, suggests a new paradigm for business: “FREE.” He believes that, in his terms,  "free" will always “win.” His vision is a world where all information is free.

While that is slightly thrilling ultimately, we all know, it is impossible. Money makes the world go 'round. Someone has to pay the bills, after all - and there are many ways that it can play out, conventional and otherwise.

Take for example the book, Free, which retails for $29.99. Content is only as free as it can be. We must also pay for the method of delivery, be it paper, electronic or DVD. 

In his paradigm, Anderson believes that “information wants to be free.” That adage especially applies to the world of journalism in the digital age, he says, and there are many examples that would seem to bear him out.

Truly the citizen journalist has made his debut and we all felt the impact. Anyone can blog or pontificate on any subject from any point of view. Sharp writers will understand the fundamentals of SEO. They may understand social media  and viral marketing. It may be possible that they are re-tweeted, shared on Facebook and found in StumbledUpon.

We don’t have to look for news. It assaults us – everywhere. It’s in buses and elevators, in our email and on our homepage. We will never go back to waiting for the evening news. That would be as archaic as waiting for the evening paper.

But there is an old adage that I rely on for reality checks – “You get what you pay for.” Another old saying rapidly follows: “There are no free lunches.”

Socialnomics, a film on the power of Social Media

#OWS - 1% Defined

UPDATE (4:15 pm, 11/17/11, PDT): On the 2-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protesters in New York City staged an allegedly peaceful march. It continues throughout the day with police in riot gear assisting occupiers to move out of Zuccotti Park; 400 arrests were made. Similar activity in Occupied Areas across the country are resulting in arrests and police activity throughout the country.

OWS protestors get invited to leave, November 17, 2011

At home, in Los Angeles, 23 Occupiers were arrested following a march that blocked traffic. The first arrest was 82-year-old Bertha Jordan, a union member.

One participant tweeted the following (watch the Colbert Report below):

@FrancisHerreroFrancis Herrero

@Hope_ful1980 @OccupyLA - I think it would be funny if we all claim to be #OLA 's leader. Singular.

1% DEFINED

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Colbert Super PAC - Stephen Colbert Occupies Occupy Wall Street Pt. 1
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Occupy Wall Street (OWS) sharpens class rhetoric and solidifies the us-against-them argument in the image of the “99%.” Most of us understand intuitively who that 1% is – like when Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart described pornography: "I know it when I see it."

Nancy Pelosi has a chat with
Christiane Amanpour about OWS (ABC)

Their rhetoric is rich with philosophy and conclusions that are supported by mind-numbing nit picking. Somehow, using the art of sound byte, the occupiers have forced us to deny our own instincts about sanitation. People around the occupation politely avoid discussions that may appear politically incorrect. Yet, after two months with limited facilities and in close quarters there are reports of scabies and ringworm at various sites throughout the country. Good thing they are practicing nit picking!

But most of us agree that there is a huge discrepancy between the 1% and the rest of us. The deck is stacked and the house always wins. They own the cards, after all. The rest of us are out here hoping to make enough to pay for the trip. We get that. But what is not clear, especially in the wake of celebrity support of OWS – is the definition of who the 1% really is.

Strictly speaking, we can separate them by either their gross income or net worth.

Gross income, based on the figures available from the IRS in the latest year (2009), puts the top income earners at $343, 927 as among the top 1%, according to Kiplinger. The top 1% net worth is $9 million. 

Clearly, income is not the means testing. In fact, in a burst of hypocrisy, the movement has embraced its own "1%-ers" with complete abandon, suspending reality for the sake of a photo-op.

Georgia state Sen. Vincent Fort (D) at Occupy Atlanta,
proclaims,"This is the best day of my life!"(@mrwatkins)

Those income/worth figures would have to preclude the presence and support of politicians, actors and other glitterati supporting these events.

But noting the benign hypocrisy inherent in getting the public to focus on anything for more than a sound byte, it seems a lot of the 1%-ers aren’t 1%-ers anymore if they support the 99%.

Rather than a black-and-white definition, the only definition is liquid and capricious. As long as they can sleep in public spaces, have their yoga classes and meditation, set up their legal tables and libraries and have entertainment described as the General Assembly and attended by the erstwhile celebrity supporter, they don’t really seem to care about hypocrisy.

CEOs of large corporations have been targeted as the “1%.” Truth is that they make up only a fraction of the whole segment. Other 1%-ers include: union leaders, entertainment people, sports figures, CEOs of non-profits, politicians, special interest PACs, trust-funders and a few others.

The OWS movement has been thoroughly hijacked by everyone left of center who has ever had a bowel movement.  Whatever the original intention, they have suppressed any expression by malcontents from the OTHER side of center from ever happening in their sacred arenas.

OWS is a soapbox for every actor, union, Democratic politician or “progressive” special interest group on the planet.

Intuitively, anyone can understand Michael Moore ($50 million), Alec Baldwin ($65 million) and Susan Sarandon ($50 million). Could we find a better fit?

Alec Baldwin at Zuccotti Park (@firedogriver) Nov. 10, 2011

As the OWS are being swept out of public squares across the country, Democrats cry out in protest.  

It is difficult to gauge the net worth of any lawmaker because of their reporting rules. Some of the most supportive members are also among the wealthiest. Take for example Nancy Pelosi, whose worth is estimated to be between $58,436, 537 and $124,229,990. “I support the message to the Establishment,” she told ABC News, in typical ‘60’s lingo. She will return to California in her own jet, laughing all the way.

Who are the 1%? Whoever OWS says they are. It has nothing to do with facts. It’s a feeling. 

Tell me how you feel about it!

LA Budget Cuts Endanger Coral Trees and Residents in Brentwood

Coral trees on San Vicente median (Vicki Talbot)

LA City budget cuts for the famous coral trees on San Vicente Boulevard endanger their fragile health and can be very dangerous, says Brentwood Community Council president Nancy Freedman.

The trees are a Cultural Heritage Monument of the City of Los Angeles.  Joggers and pedestrians enjoy a grassy interlude in the busy urban landscape. But, without maintenance, their shallow root system cannot support the heavy, full green canopies. The trees have to be trimmed annually. And they are susceptible to overwatering, a condition that has toppled many trees in rainy years past.

"A limb could break on your head," said Freedman. "Last rain, everybody had their fingers crossed."

So local community members have mobilized a campaign to permanently take care of the precious trees.

Armed Robbery at a 7-11 in Brentwood?

The Brentwood 7-11 on Wilshire near Federal (Vicki Talbot)

Brentwood is a sleepy little LA burg that doesn't know from crime; just the occasional car thefts and small-time burglars looking for computers for drug money, a few white collar criminals and some neighborly feuds, divorces and custody battles. So the morning of October 6 was a wake up call.

What Happened?

First of all, yes, there is a 7-11 in Brentwood. Its located at 11656 Wilshire Boulevard, just west of Federal.

Thursday, October 6, at 5 a.m., two suspects entered the 7-11 store wearing hoodies, baseball caps, white plastic painter's suits and painter's masks. 

In the store's security video we see the first suspect enter the store. He runs up to the manager in the aisle, where he is training a new employee. The robber jabs the poor guy in the back of the neck with a handgun and forces him to the floor. Then he drags the guy across the floor to the cash registers and the safe, behind the counter. The suspect is in such a hurry that he doesn't see his friend enter the store. Like a scene out of the Keystone Cops, he bumps into him as the accomplice enters the aisle. They almost blew it right there.

The second guy grabs the employee, and forces him to the ground. "Stay on the ground," he yells. The employee lies still, face down on the floor, but the guy keeps yelling, "Stay on the f-ing ground." Then, he runs up to the counter and retrieves the firearm from the first guy and runs back down the aisle with the gun. That is simply ODD.