p2pnet re-visited
p2pnet.net:- I’m still getting emails asking wtf p2pnet is about and Who the Phk do I think I am. So below is a lightly amended re-post of an item I put up at the beginning of October last year.
Nothing much has changed, except we had to dump the gas-guzzler after being told we’d need $1,600 to keep it on the road. And that means we now have a $250-a-month car payment that we didn’t have before. heh
And Emma’s bird population now includes two beautiful Australian King parrots we rescued, plus three new cockatiels, also rescued : )
Otherwise ….
Since I started p2pnet a couple of years back, I’ve had people asking me why I bother and when the story on the latest [at the time] installment of the RIAA’s sue ‘em all campaign went up, I had quite a few more inquiries (not to mention several suggesting interesting ways for me to otherwise occupy my time ; )
Some people have the idea I’m using p2pnet to get rich. Others think the p2p operators who advertise on the site pay me to feature their software.
Neither is true. Although I’m really grateful for the support I get from the p2p guys, they have zero to do with what I write and neither their ads nor the Google boxes even start to cover my costs.
And as to getting rich ……………
I have a wife, an eight-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Emma, a mortgage, six budgies, two finches, four cockatiels, a cat, a very large dog and a vehicle payment to support. I’ve been publishing p2pnet full time for since April, 2003, 24/7, and we took out a bank loan to keep going.
So why do I bother?
Simple. I love doing p2pnet and fortunately, my wife, Liz, is still right behind me.
Cash Cows no longer
Before the CyberSpace came along, I wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in hell of being able to make myself heard on issues I felt strongly about. ‘Letters to the editor” don’t achieve much and public protests on anything other than a massive scale aren’t usually effective, even if I’d wanted to go marching.
The Net changes the scenario.
With it, ordinary people such as you and I reach millions of other ordinary people and together, we form immensely powerful international blocks and think-tanks.
We used to be the cash-cows contemptuously called ‘consumers’ and we’ve grown used to being told what to do and not to ask awkward questions.
Not any more. Online, we’re back to being people. Customers. And the customer is always right.
For the first time in history, staggeringly huge numbers of us can communicate with each other. Instantly.
P2p is being attacked ostensibly because it’s being used to move movies and music files around. But the real danger from the corporate perspective is: p2p allows people to share information, and information, not money, is the currency and the power of the 21st century.
Businesses and governments have grown used to dictating what happens, and where and when, because they’ve always had exclusive and complete control of the flow of information.
Gutenberg turned the world into a series of loosely connected villages. The Lynotype and, later, the broadcast and print media, tightened the villages into easily manipulated and controlled information networks and radio, television and the print became the tools of business and government everywhere.
But online in the 21st century, the media and the message are one and the same thing and corporate and government interests know if they’re to maintain the status quo, they must now find ways to dominate CyberSpace and the Net in the same way they dominate the mainstream print and electronic media outlets.
File swapping and file sharing are just the tip of the ice-berg.
Every day more and more people are hooking into the Net. Men, women and children have become their own reporters and the world is being pollinated with startling new ideas.
Soon, a critical mass will be reached and this terrifies the Powers that Used to Be.
It’s a whole new world, and a brave one, and thanks to p2p and the Net, you and I are making a difference.
That’s why I bother.
Cheers! And all the best …
Jon
January 25th, 2005 at 9:47 pm
Hear, hear, Jon! Keep up the good fight, you and your menagerie all!
January 26th, 2005 at 12:05 am
much of the so-called P2P community – unfortunately.
“You’re just trying to get rich!” (as if there’s something innately crooked with the pursuit of wealth)
So WHAT? Let’s assume that Jon is ABSOLUTELY looking to transform p2pnet into gainful employment for himself. So what? If his information remains factual and enlightening, what difference does it make?
Sometimes these critics act like the only bad people in the world are employers.
January 26th, 2005 at 12:25 am
a lot of people bitch/whine b/c they wish they could be doing the same thing but are unable to….
keep up the good work!
TT
January 26th, 2005 at 12:26 am
January 26th, 2005 at 12:49 am
From reading a few bits and pieces here and there, I was under the impression that P2Pnet barely made enough money just to cover its server and bandwidth costs, but now it seems that its goal is to be the sole breadwinner for a family.
It seems that most sites like this are done strictly as an evening/weekend hobby – the old saying “don’t quit your day job!” applies – but maybe P2Pnet was intended to be a commercial site, or at least to try to pull in enough ad revenue to pay a mortgage, car payment, and all the rest.
Unlike a “bricks and mortar” business, if the owner of a website needs to ever return to the ‘rat race’ and get a “real job” the site can still continue, though perhaps at a reduced pace.
Loki-Torrent publishes a real-time chart showing how far they are from reaching their monthly goal of donations to meet estimated legal costs. Maybe P2Pnet can do something like that. This is probably the only site I know of that asks for donations but does not say how much money it generates – or what its goals even are.
January 26th, 2005 at 2:07 am
i agree with the above post about donations. sometimes i wonder how many donations a site really is getting and for what purposes. people would feel better about donating if they saw how much and where it goes.
January 26th, 2005 at 2:51 am
…and who the phk R U?! Are you a commie?
Drake
January 26th, 2005 at 5:09 am
Hey Drake go F**K YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The we be Jamin Band!!!!!!!!!!
January 26th, 2005 at 6:35 am
Who cares what donations are used for? Lowkee is asking for help in defending against something that normally couldn’t be done. Jon here is running a site that is costing him both time and money. If you use the site regularly and want to see it continue, then you donate.
Back before the Internet I used to run a BBS. A very popular BBS. The problem is that only one person could log on at a time. I had five lines installed and spent a lot of money to accomodate more users. I asked for donations.
I got a few donations, but eventually the expense was more than I could handle, so I gave it up. I beleive Jon when he says that he isn’t making money doing this. Free sites rarely make any money.
January 26th, 2005 at 8:27 am
why not setup a paypal donation link on your page so if people want to conttribute they can.:)
January 26th, 2005 at 9:45 am
As many times as I read an article regarding the freedom the Internet has given to us ” the common people ” on public self expression, the whole idea never stops to amaze me. Everyday you hear terrible news about the Internet (child exploitation, scams etc.), facts that give this wonderful medium a bad name, it is posts like this one that make me proud of how many things have been accomplished because of the net. I am Greek and my forefathers would have been quite proud of the freedom and the true democracy the net has given us. My primitive English should be excused..
Alexk7110
January 26th, 2005 at 10:25 am
Hi Jon,
Just want to let you know that there is one happy and curious p2pnet reader right here.
Have a wonderful and interesting life.
W.
January 26th, 2005 at 1:08 pm
While I admire what has been done with p2p.net, I don’t get the need for so much money. I’ve had a successful site for 2 1/2 years and never had an ad, nor have I asked for donations. I do it out of the sheer love of writing and to ask or beg for money or clutter it with ads would ruin it.
January 26th, 2005 at 2:18 pm
I gave up on the idea of donations quite a while back. This isn’t the kind of site that can reasonably expect to get any. It doesn’t provide a tangible ’something’.
MUTE’s Jason Rohrer provides a definite item – a p2p app. Downhill Battle is out there doing it, and also has three or four people working on it. The EFF is in the court-rooms. And so on. p2pnet tries to counter what’s being dished out by the likes of the movie studios and record labels, and accepted by a lot of people, including most of the mainstream media.
Is it successful in this? I have no way of knowing. But p2pnet now has a very substantial international readership, so maybe a few people now realise the Hollywood and the people who work for it, in one way or another, are not credible sources.
But I was wrong to try and get financial help in the first place, and I realise that now.
However, as I say in the Missions tatement, “p2pnet’s focus is on digital media and file sharing, but the ultimate goal has always been to help launch a non-profit, collaborative and censor-free international news service through which on- and offline community print and electronic media outlets can access and exchange news which hasn’t been spun, filtered and pre-digested by corporate interests”.
That’s what money was/is needed for. But this isn’t an appeal. I’ll sort that out, one way or another.
I wanted to say just this:
“File swapping and file sharing are just the tip of the ice-berg. Every day more and more people are hooking into the Net. Men, women and children have become their own reporters and the world is being pollinated with startling new ideas. Soon, a critical mass will be reached and this terrifies the Powers that Used to Be.
“It’s a whole new world, and a brave one, and thanks to p2p and the Net, you and I are making a difference.”
That’s why p2pnet exists – not as a business effort.
Cheers!
January 26th, 2005 at 2:30 pm
Keep up the good work.
I read your site frequently.
In a world (and web) packed with corporate voices and press releases, there needs to be more people representing the end-user speaking up!
Thank you!
-Karl Bode
January 26th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
This is the kind of post p2pnet frequently comes up with – http://p2pnet.net/story/3649
Keep on publishing!
Morg
January 28th, 2005 at 3:05 pm
I remeber the days of the old BBS. I was in on that one big time. IF the governamnts and Cartels do manage to finally stile the Net, I see sort of an Underground Internet spring up in its place. Now that we have DSL modems, wireless nics and all sorts of things like that, I see the potential for local area networks spanning several miles. These local connections could be tied to others through tunneling software via the corporate nInternet infrastructure if need be. If all the hackers got together and started designing our own infrastruction, the cartels would no longer have any say.
As for now, like it or not, the Internet is being routed through cartel infrastructure, and we are forced to put up with restrictions and prices imposed by the Cartels. The way I see it, it would hurt the (telco) Cartels more by clamping down on the free exchange of ideas than if they allowed what is happening to continue. At least at the moment, they are getting a piece of the pie.
February 22nd, 2005 at 4:07 am
Oh please do!
Only a few million people can connect to the internet today. We’re more than 6 billion on Earth, and counting.
If we are able today, through Wireless primarily (cost effective!!!), to NOT depend on ANY company or profit-oriented organization to give everyone access to Knowledge (through the Internet of course), well, we’ve won.
WE = everyone.
Oh yes, because one’s aim in life can only be happiness.
For some, power can bring happiness.
To exercise power on one’s floor neighbours (tell them to shut up and stuff), that should be more than enough for today’s world rulers tomorrow (’cause it’s should be the most powerful thing we are allowing them to do. we, the neighbours).
To those who have the technical knowledge : try and do it, try and share it.
March 2nd, 2005 at 12:53 am
You have to understand that a more popular site is going to incur higher bandwith costs. As much as everyone would like to say the net is free, it really isn’t, unfortunately. So what if there’s ads? Do they make you want to pull your hair out? I just ignore them, or click em once in a while to help out with costs. I really admire what Jon is doing. This is a great place to get what I feel is untainted news about what is happening on the net.
Keep up the good work Jon, and look for my donation.
Jason
March 11th, 2005 at 6:52 am
You might be on to something. We are experiencing the super smart hive population.
April 26th, 2005 at 9:35 pm
May 13th, 2005 at 7:57 pm
Jon, do not apologize for having solicited donations. In the course of my web surfing, I have seen innumerable web sites humbly ask for help, if the user of the site thinks it is worth it and if he or she can afford it. Apparently, these people who berate you for asking for some help have never downloaded shareware programs or applications. To me, it makes more sense to state the fact that you have costs and would like some help, when and where possible, than to be like the parasitic vultures who (already having more than they can ever spend — does 40 billion dollars ring a bell?) give you no choice — pay up or hit the road!
Several years ago, I knew a minister whose flock was little more than fifteen or twenty people on an average Sunday. He was raising a family, and had obligations like other men. He could not afford to pay the rent on a small house which had been converted to a church, even though the owner made the rent as reasonable as possible. Every Sunday morning, his wife passed the plate, and it was with bated breath that they awaited the outcome. For they not only had to pay the rent, they had to buy the Saltine crackers and the Welch’s grape juice which served as the Eucharist.
Over all, the congregation consisted of poor people who felt more comfortable attending that little church, rather than opting for one where men and women wore fine clothing, drove nice cars, and made sure they were seen by their neighbors.
Is the analogy inappropriate? I do not believe so. That minister devoted himself to spreading the Word, provided a welcome environment where a certain few could feel comfortable as they worshipped, and was no less a priest, minister, counselor, and pillar of the community than his counterparts who wore fancy silk robes and surrounded their pulpits with cut flowers, musical instruments, and beautiful young men and women who sang gospel songs and passed the two or three dozen collection plates.
No, Jon. Do not apologize to those who cannot appreciate the results of a man’s labors. Let them rant and rave (I wonder why they never question where their billions in tax revenues seem to vanish each year when a new budget is being considered?) And like that Minister from my distant past, allow anyone and everyone (”Love thine enemy”) to enjoy the fellowship – whether he can afford to put a dollar in the collection plate or not.
I salute you and I applaud your noble efforts. From the seed you planted, a strong body politic will emerge. And who knows, maybe we are not on the brink of the abyss — perhaps there is hope, still, after the ravages of the greedy politicians and power-hungry fundamentalists have eventually been overthrown.
May 13th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
‘ANONYMOUS COWARD’?
I WILL BE HAPPY TO DIVULGE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF THAT DOES NOT COMPROMISE MY RIGHTS TO PRIVACY.
I suspect that my failure to log in prior to posting was responsible for that villainous epithet. I shall go and register this very minute.
I am known as “PluQueRic” — a riddle, by the way.
May 13th, 2005 at 8:03 pm
Jon — whose idea was it to use such a belligerent greeting for anonymous posters?
March 20th, 2006 at 7:16 am
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