I would say that even if you’re in the position of someone like Olga Khazan, the five minutes it takes to find out who you’re sending the query to makes all the difference in the world. I’ve had plenty of requests to republish blog writing over the years, and since unlike Thayer it’s not what puts food on my table, I’m often willing to consider doing it for free or for very little. But if the person asking doesn’t seem to know anything about me, about this blog, or about the range of things I write about, that query is going straight into the trash, or if it’s really an egregious kind of aggregator or IP troll, maybe it’ll even irk me enough to warrant a “under no circumstances” reply.

I have spent entire weeks sending mail like that to people I admire and respect that made me go home and have a double scotch. That said, I did learn not to be so embarrassed as to talk on the phone because then they can /hear/ the dismay in my voice.

What’s really undermining the content providers isn’t the average blogger, like you and me. It’s super young writers who work insane hours. Also, it’s people with other types of income streams, like academics, policy directors, and other experts, who really do have interesting things to say and are happy to find a place for their ideas somewhere. They write one or two articles to get attention to their issues or their groups or promote their “brand.” Instead of money, they take exposure.

There is an endless supply of smart people writing good stuff who will happily work for free. There is actually too much good content out there.

My best friend is a freelance editor and she’s run into the same problem on her end. She’s competing for jobs with people who work for free.

Maybe the right distribution system will make all the difference (as it did with the transition to iTunes, Netflix, etc.).