The internet is sick.

Why is this so?

Well my notion is that the internet is full of altruists. People work their fingers to the bone on behalf of different causes and agendas. They do all they can to create good things to give to those who come to their websites, but there is no way to make an income from this work that they do. People write for websites such as Wikipedia or Newsvine. People put up videos on youtube, or they create music, and distribute it on peer to peer networks. They seek earnestly to add value to the world they live in. They seek to influence the world, and change things. And yet and still they find nothing but lint when they empty their pockets.

It's been interesting to compare the evolution of attitudes and agendas on the open internet, with the evolution of events at a virtual 3dworld where I like to chat with folks - SecondLife. SecondLife is a healthy place. There are lots of seedy sections, where the avatar motion is really slow, and there are endless streets of empty shopfronts, where people are trying to sell their wares. But there are also very intriguing social dynamics evolving. People are role playing, and designing strategy games, and making nice bungalows where they can invite their real world friends over for tea.

Now the key difference here I would like to point out, is that SecondLife was designed from the bottom up to encourage people to create things, and to buy and sell them. You are taught the skills you need to create these crafts and services, and then you are given the tools with which to start up a business. And having property in SecondLife for a storefront or for your own events is quite expensive. Ideally one should have a private island, and that costs $1000usd initially, and $300usd per month for as long as you hold onto the property. So just like in the real world, having a business requires a certain amount of overhead, which you have to pay each month. The upshot of all of this, is that people get inspired in SecondLife. SecondLife goods and services are not expensive, and there's always stuff available for free, which is given out by people who wish to promote themselves. And I'm sure that most entrepreneurs give up quickly, not having made more than a few dollars. However, the fact that there are at least some ways of pulling in an income which are obvious, means that even if people fail at first, they will remain in good spirits, and become innovative, and some will go on to carve themselves niches which others haven't thought of yet. The upshot of all of this, is that people have hope, and they can see the way forward for themselves.

So my proposal is that just like folks have created so many varieties of discussion board software and blog software in php, that they would also think about creating web software which makes it very easy for the creators of web content, whether it be text, or audio, or video, or whatever - to charge for those who use that content. Paypal has a micropayments system which could be easily plugged in as a back end to web software.

Now, there are those who are petulant and exclaim that everything on the net has to be free. And they might be indignant about this proposal. To address those people... let me say that I think that because of the nature of the computer and the internet, audio, video, text, and imagery will be copied freely and will be shared freely forever. There is no turning back the hands of the clock on the technology. Those who want to conduct business on the internet will have to adapt their strategies to incorporate the zeal of folks who want to get things for free. When Gutenberg's movable type printing press was introduced in the middle of the millenium, it changed the world - and many people were out of work, and many others found new niches for themselves; we're going through a similar revolution now. And looking at SecondLife - I think that even when folks are given the websoftware tools, most people will not be successful with starting a business selling ethereal digital downloads, or content. But they will retain hope and their dignity, and they will begin to see a way forward for themselves where they might succeed as entrepreneurs someday. The wonderful thing about the internet is that it has removed the need for capital for those who wish to start a business.

And from here, I think the social dynamic across the internet would change dramatically. It no longer will be a place of the hippy vision of free sharing and consumption. It will be a vibrant place, where if someone has an idea of some cool project they want to create, she or he will also have the ideas in mind of how to pay for that project. If people can figure out how to pay themselves for their work on the net, this will untie a lot of hands. No longer will the most prevalent internet occupation be coming home from work on a friday afternoon, and writing or reading a sloppy blog entry.

I now have the skills to create this kind of web software using tcl/tk and I have a vision in mind for how I will do it. The question is whether and when I will find the time to set my hand to the project. So I hope others will take this vision as their own as well.