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Seth Godin writes “Seven Years Gone,” asking
Seven years from now, what will you have to show for what you’re doing right now?
I have an answer: “200,000 words of original content owned free and clear of any intellectual property encumbrance.”
What’s your answer?
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Here’s my backstory…
Over the last 10 years, I’ve worked on 4 really amazing software projects. Amazing software that you have never heard of. Software that ended up DOA (dead on arrival).
I don’t own any (or enough) of the intellectual property rights for these projects. Other people have the controlling interests. I could point you to old, stale links for 3 of them. You could probably find them by doing a really deep search on Google on my name. Boring. The fourth, last, and coolest project was for a DARPA contractor. It’s not totally classified, but there are trade secrets involved. That was 2.5 years of my life.
Think about it: a decade goes by, and I don’t have anything to show for it.
Man, that sucks.
How much of your last 10 years do you own?
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2009 is different.
I own – outright – 99% of what I’ve done in 2009.
That last 1% is client work, which I’ll be doing more of in the future.
How much of 2009 is yours?
How much of 2010 will be yours?
By the way, if you’re in a corporate or government job, and want to start building your intellectual property, a sideline information business, or your personal brand in a manner acceptable to your current employment, drop me a line and I’ll help you get started.
Interested point. I think I’m on the right track with my blog’s content being mine and I’ll be starting an online business when I move back to NZ. I think I’ll own all of that content too. :)
It’s a good point you’re making to be aware of that in years to come how much of what you do is actually yours. We should ask ourselves, who are we really working for?
Happy New Year, Dave!
.-= Gordie´s last blog ..Look, Mom! My Blog’s Sprouting Pubes! =-.
You won’t regret owning your own content. I should have done this years ago. I’m encouraging all of my friends to take action now to develop their own content portfolio.
Part of my motivation for this website is to be able to simply show people what I can do. Demonstration, not explanation.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Happy New Year! (Now make something happen) =-.
I suppose the beauty of being self employed is that you get to keep all the fruits of your efforts. Naturally that’s after the Government takes their cut, then it’s all yours. Hang on a sec, I kind of forgotten the wife and then naturally their is the kids. Shit, that must be how Al Bundy feels.
Oh well, at least all the content I come up with is mine to keep, except for the stuff those scrapers pinch.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Google Finishes Off 2009 By Waving The PR Wand =-.
When you work for yourself, you can sell your stuff over and over again. When you work for others, they get to sell it.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Whose in Charge Here? You, or your blog? =-.
True, but as a wholesaler I sell other peoples stuff which has it’s own merits.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Google Finishes Off 2009 By Waving The PR Wand =-.
I think there are 2 good points here. One is doing work that you believe makes a difference. To me that is the more important factor. Will 5-10 years from now you be happy with what you accomplished in that time? Are you glad you spent your time that way?
The second issue of owning what you have produced is nice. But it is not easy to create very valuable content that can be converted into cash. Some can and then it is great.
I think really, more often, it can be the freedom that your own work gives you that is rewarding. Not so much the monetary value it brings. I do have quite a few web sites that I really enjoy working on and I think are worthwhile. And they get lots of visitors (when I compare it to people I meet or train in seminars or the like). But they are far from properties I can sell for any significant amount of money.
.-= John @ Curious Cat Management Blog´s last blog ..The USA Pays Double for Worse Health Results =-.
John, very good point about meaning.
Note I didn’t include the 60 homes I framed over 5 years in the ’80s. I own none of that, but everyone can see these structures. For example, I worked on several mongo condos at Simmons Pointe in Mt Pleasant SC (http://bit.ly/6Uh9CX).
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Foodspotting: Twitter and Foursquare Hook Up for Dinner (& Week in Review) =-.
Wow. You just put words to something that’s been in the back of my mind a while: I was also a sorftware developer for over 15 years and yet the operating system I spent 5 years on is dead and gone, just like the very early VOIP switch and the cool chess game. Other work of mine is off on a Navy ship somewhere and I can’t talk about it.
At the end of it all, it’s near impossible to point to anything and say “I did that”.
Websites and blogs seem to have that permanence lacking in a lot of other work.
Navy + 6 Pack Abs + “Cain’t say shit” = SEAL. Or maybe Recon.
Aruga.
2d Recon Bn myself.
Yeah man, write up everything you can, but learn to write really, really well while you’re at it.
Lemme know if you have a personal blog somewhere. Also, feel free to link in key words in your name for comments. It will help drive better targeted traffic.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..As The Internet Evolves – Anonymity Go Bye Bye =-.