Another Word On For-Fee Aggregators

One more post before I turn in..

Blogging is about passion and community, which may well be two sides of the same coin. Our passion makes us a community. Even though I don't read the output of my fellows in the SQL Server blogosphere nearly as much as I should, I know they're out there. If I'm lucky, between two projects at work and a family of six at home, I go on one blog reading binge every three weeks or so. Usually I'm not so lucky, at least in the blog-binging regard.

So it was heartening to find a very kind link from Kevin Kline (who very skillfully moderated a panel I sat on at SQL PASS 2006) regarding my comments last week about those who would charge you for access to what both he and I are giving away. He mentions that he uses a free tool from a company headquartered in Mountain View, CA to perform exactly the task that the for-fee aggregators would like you to pay them to "do for you."

The writer of one of the considerable number of emails I got in the wake of my initial post made the excellent point that the aggregators have the right to search the Internet for content and sell the links as a value-add. Capitalism is everywhere. We bloggers place our material on the web precisely because we wish it to be found. I have a feeling, though, that if many of us wanted our readers to pay to read our posts, we'd find a way to get them to pay us.

So, while no laws are being broken, Kevin makes the excellent point that he can do the same thing, for himself, for free.

So can you, gentle readers. So can you.

Caveat emptor , ladies and gentlemen.

     -wp