Tue, 18 May 2004 19:18:00 GMT

Blogging and Cost.

I've been thinking about money and blogging today, in part because so many people are writing about MovableType's pricing.

I can't seem to figure out how much I receive from this weblog. But I can figure out roughly how much I spend — mostly in time. The expense number is large. And I'm quite sure markBernstein.org is profitable.

What has your weblog done for you? This weblog, over the years, has done me lots of favors. It's taken me to San Francisco and to Europe, twice. It's introduced me to lots of interesting people. It's got me to write every day — I know lots of people who pay their workshops and mentors plenty of money to do just that. It's helped me get in touch with some fascinating writers. It's helped people to get started with Tinderbox and with Storyspace, and it's helped them get more out of these tools. It's sold plenty of TEKKA subscriptions.

Thanks, Red!

The evident sourness of the Movable Type community in the face of a small, predictable price increase is dismaying. I say this, even though I work for a competitor.

[Mark Bernstein]

——

on one level i can see Mark's point…. on another, i can't. i can't see that moveable type can cost-compete with other more open solutions, and because of that i don't think people should pay. this is not like tinderbox which has no real competition that i can see, and thus can more easily justify its cost as an interesting tool that does much more.