What’s the difference between running a newsletter and running a blog? How is this any different from banning a staffer from using Twitter?
https://simonowens.substack.com/p/should-publishers-allow-their-journalists
This is a great article, asking great questions, especially as they relate to side hustles or general after-work hours education.
For those of us hungry to learn more, our brains don’t shut off outside the hours of 9am and 5p. Rather, we’re continually asking questions. Continually looking at things differently. Continually putting ideas into action.
And I wonder, how do full time employees with a genuine interest in bettering themselves, bettering their careers and bettering the organizations they work for, get better themselves?
Let’s face it. Companies don’t want employees doing any work unless it impacts the company. It seems very short-sighted (especially for business-oriented leaders):
“Don’t these outlets want their journalists to build up newsletter audiences that can be leveraged to drive readers to their stories?”
Starting with the introduction of the LAMP stack, creators (in the broad sense of the word) have been building new applications and new solutions without investing in big infrastructure costs. Today, Substack, Squarespace and Ghost allow the full stack for nearly free, in addition to payment and distribution features.
Maybe it’s the potential income these creators and innovators and curious individuals might bring in for themselves. Maybe that’s considered competitive.
I’m not sure I buy that. Additionally, potential income is one carrot, one incentive and one validation tool to see what’s working and what’s not working.
If I can build this, support it and sell it – would the company I work for be interested in doing something similar?
If I’m in marketing, how do I create value for myself and my organization if today’s applications aren’t used in my organization?
If I can’t experiment with the application within the organization and I have a strong curiosity, do I build that in private and not publish it?
How does that benefit me in my role as marketer? Does that teach me the fundamentals of ‘just ship it’?
Beyond newsletters, the creator economy is opening our eyes into how we work and the relationship between employer and employee.
It’s now up to us to develop and better define the value exchange between the two parties to ensure building in public is not seen as a competitive threat.