The part that gets sketchy is when you are asked for your services and not expected to be compensated for them. [John Bollwitt]

I started meditating about this issue shortly after I received a tweet from Mike Jagger who indicated “you are the Mother Theresa of liveblogs“. That, and the sentence above just absolutely triggered a thinking process around the wrong perception that I give out my services for free. Nothing further from the truth. I don’t want to nor do I plan to be the Mother Theresa of liveblogs. I would like people to appreciate the value of my time, the value of my writing and the value of my research skills. I don’t write “for the exposure“. I *have* the exposure, thank you very much! And bottom line? I write for myself, so whether people read my content or not is not one of my concerns, nor is it being “seen”.

I have volunteered my time for the Vancouver social media/tech community to extreme lengths. I am not self-absorbed or self-congratulatory in saying this, I am just being truthful. I have liveblogged numerous events for free. I have covered many events for free. This doesn’t mean that I have de-valued my own work: it means that I am interested in giving back to the community in the spirit of “paying it forward”. However, I work as a freelancer. I am NOT a freebie. Don’t mistake my generosity for lack of appreciation for my own value.

If people are expecting me to liveblog an event just “‘because” they may probably find that I will decide NOT to do it. Liveblogging, writing content for blogs, reporting on events, etc. are just a few examples of actual services, and people need to learn that they should be paid and rewarded. The perceptions that just because we are bloggers we should feel happy that we get invited to events or that anybody can liveblog an event are completely erroneous. Of course, everybody with some degree of knowledge of computers and technology can fire up a liveblogging event on Cover It Live. That’s not that difficult. It’s the skill required to capture the thoughts and meanings of a speaker that is an acquired, honed and valuable skill. Refusing to pay for a service that is provided is tantamount to trying to get a freebie.

For example, when you go for a consultation with a doctor (medical doctor, MD) or a psychologist or a counsellor, do peoplereally expect to go in, and come out and NOT pay anything? No, right? Then why would people think that they can come, ask me a barrage of questions and expect an in-house, one-on-one, free consultation? I have no clue why, but this has happened to me, more times than I care to remember.

There is a big difference when I deal with my friends. For example, if somebody who is a friend of mine tells me “hey can you translate this short sentence for me” (in any of the languages I speak) I am more than happy to do so. If somebody tells me to spend an hour of my time translating, I’m expecting that either (a) the person asking is a very close friend, and he/she will appreciate what I do and (b) the relationship is so reciprocal that asking a favor back will never be an issue. Or (c) that they are going to pay my translation fee.

I would really like to change people’s perceptions that everything can come for free (or be bartered). That’s not true. As Rebecca Bollwitt noted on her post on bloggers for hire, “bloggers who produce strong, insightful, creative and intelligently content have great value.” Bloggers, consultants, freelancers, researchers, all provide important services, and as such, should be rewarded.

Last year, when I was in the process of establishing more of a consulting practice in social media, I asked how to establish pricing strategies in this field, one that wasn’t really mine from the get-go. Right now, I think of social media as just one more of the fields that I consult on, simply because I have accumulated experience organizing social media conferences, giving talks, testing the tools, writing content, and establishing relationships. I have a PhD in environmental studies, that’s where my initial consulting work is. Social media is my “side job”.

As I mentioned in a comment I posted on John’s excellent post, your knowledge is your currency. I spent numerous years doing rigorous research and becoming a specialist in the fields I have expertise in. If anybody wants my knowledge, it comes at a price. I am wondering how do other freelancers/consultants/writers/bloggers feel about this topic. I know it’s touchy and thorny, but I wanted to put it out there.

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I explained to Jonathon and Joe that in academia, theoretically, you work at a university and you are paid a monthly (bi-weekly) salary for the combined work you do: teaching (both at the undergraduate and graduate levels), research, engagement in university affairs, service to the community (both outside the university and within your academic fields), mentoring of graduate students (and in some cases, undergraduate students too), extension (i.e. teaching continuing education short courses). All of this, yes, for the same salary. I have done all of this at a research centre, and part of this at the university.

I have been invited (asked to/offered/suggested) to write as a freelancer, and I have undertaken work as a contractor/consultant, both independently and as part of a research centre/think tank. Even though you could think that I perceive the life of an academic as MUCH tougher than the life of a consultant, from my own experience (and current levels of stress) I can tell you that they’re both at about the same level.

The interesting thing (and this was something that was discussed over Twitter a few weeks back) is that there’s no guideline as to what a writer/freelancer/copywriter should be paid. There are numerous angles to this discussion but the one that I am approaching is the payment of writing services. I have written thousands of words (maybe millions by now) and I believe I’m a pretty good writer. I can write in academic style and in prose that is more accessible to the general public. I enjoy sharing my academic thoughts and findings on the blog I set up on my research site (and yes, nobody pays me for those).

This blog itself is a labour of love, my repository, the place where I practice my own thinking (I am reminded of the byline that David Eaves uses on his blog – “if writing is a muscle, this is my gym). I don’t get paid for the content I write here (although it definitely has allowed me to create a writing portfolio that has proven valuable). I did write sponsored posts for Blogathon 2009, but that wasn’t payment for the writing, it was a donation (and no monies went to me).

So, I was just looking over the site Writers.ca which provides some guidelines on how much should writers be paid. What do you freelancers/copywriters think? And more on the topic of getting paid what you’re worth, how can we avoid devaluing our work?

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I have been recently told about the positive reputation that my blog has been building (thanks for the positive feedback, by the way – I am glad that whomever reads my blog find it appealing), and I’m grateful for that. I like having people recognize that I have worked very hard to bring my blog to where it is and bring my tech expertise up (a goal I have not achieved all on my own, but with the help of many good friends – you know who you are, since we’ve talked about this at length).

But there is a part of me that sometimes thinks I should write more enviro-focused stuff, because that’s the industry within which I would like to be immersed. I am part of the Vancouver environmental community as I do have connections with environmental non-government organizations, consulting firms, some of my friends work for the BC and Canadian governments, etc.

However, I am also part of the social media/tech community, whether I admit it or not. I’ve been immersing so much in the technical and social aspects of Web 2.0 that it will be hard to extricate myself (and even then, I don’t WANT to extricate myself – I’ve met too many wonderful people to say now “oh sorry you’re not an enviro-geek, we can’t be friends anymore” – they never said “hey you’re not a social media/tech geek, so get out of our hair”, right?).

Nevertheless, I think I will need to go back to writing more environmental focus, more posts where my actual knowledge of the subject matter is perceived, and thus build a different sort of reputation. However, I am somewhat afraid that, by virtue of doing that, it would somehow preclude me from learning more about stuff that I find exciting, and also, would basically throw away everything I have achieved so far in social media.

*sigh* And then there’s the personal side of my blog. I wonder if that would affect any potential employers. Because, let’s face it, it probably would sound a bit self-absorbed to tell employers (potential) “hey i have a blog, and it’s basically my random thoughts“. Moreover, since I am planning to work in academia (if I can get a job as a professor, otherwise I’m happy to go to consulting), there’s also the conflict – “do I let my students read my personal blog?” (some of my former students actually do, and they have told me that they love it because it gives them a refreshing perspective on their professor).

So the thing is – I kind of want my cake and eat it. I want the professional (environmental expert, academic) reputation AND I want the social media (which can also be a career in-and-of-itself) reputation too. I want people to know that the Raul they read here is the Raul they’ve become friends with or the Raul who has given dozens of academic talks and published tonnes of academic papers. That, as Boris Mann put it very elegantly, I am the whole package. This blog, in many ways is the full me. And I want it to reflect also my academic side and my enviro-geek side.

There are several angles to examine this issue through. One is – what exactly does Raul want to do (since I didn’t undertake a PhD just to throw it away – I kind of want to use my training!). That’s a discussion for later. But one thing is for sure – if given the chance, I’d become an instructor/professor at a local university. No doubt.

The next issue that would need to be examined is – How would being an academic/professor/instructor affect my blogging? Good question. Haven’t thought about the answer yet. But some people over at the Chronicle of Higher Education have. And I have local friends who are academics and who have thought about the implications of their blogging for their academic careers.

I guess it comes down to yet again, a future that (while it looks promising) may be a challenge. But I have faith in my broad skills and portfolio. I think I can do a lot with what I have done. The mere blogging and learning more about social media will help me with enhancing my tools to disseminate the scholarly knowledge I develop. Of course, there’s the other side – if I go to consulting, I think I can apply my social media skills into developing new business and attracting new contracts given that I now have some sort of idea of how to put myself out there (the whole SEO, Google Page Rankand Technorati talks have crystalized, haven’t they! )

My scholarship is fairly decently recognized, I think. I have lots of research colleagues around the globe that I am sure enjoy the kind of research I do, and have some degree of faith in my ability to complete research projects and publish the results. However, I am also aware of the limited possibilities for academic jobs within the Metro Vancouver area (I would move to Victoria, but it would be SO hard… my life here is so good, and I’m 100% in love with my life as is here!).

At any rate, I recognize that this is quite a personal reflection, but also one that I don’t think I mind sharing with the blogosphere. Of course, feedback, comments and other reflections are most welcome.

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