“A bit of a warning regarding our First Amendment protections…”
Greetings,
While New York’s governor signed Rachel’s Law in 2008 and the national Speech Act was signed by President Obama last year, Americans need to be wary of the consequences of how they express themselves, particularly online. The new First Amendment protection laws do not prevent Americans from arbitrary arrest or years of imprisonment for publishing so-called defamatory material online. Once the writer/editor/publisher travels abroad, he or she becomes subject to the laws of countries entered. In Thailand, for example, the Thai state has passed several laws, including the 2007 Computer Crime Act, making it criminal to embarrass anyone online. As well, Thai authorities, including police, have written reams justifying such harsh laws and their application. A slight referral to the country’s monarchy can lead to multiple criminal counts resulting in over half a century sentence! While Thailand’s moniker is Land of Smiles…writers beware…
Frank G Anderson
More on Content Mills
Hi Angela
Thought you might get a kick out of this. I joined a freelancers group on LinkedIn and almost all the people there are content mill writers, and convinced that very low rates are the only rates. When I mention that writers make more money than $5 or $10 for articles, they act like I’m talking about seeing UFO’s. I feel like I’m talking to the Beverly Hillbillies about airplanes…yes, there really are flying machines, honest! My favorite quote came from a couple (not newbies) who were trying to get clips but who have been writing for nearly 30 years! They wrote that if you make more than $10 for an article, you must live in a high income area, or you must have gullible employers.
Duh.
There is also a writer who believes that writing for a content mill that doesn’t provide editing (so nobody edits her work) means she’s a professional writer. I guess the first draft is the only draft in her world.
Thought you could appreciate this.
Best,
[name not published on request]