Readers, Viewers, Listeners,
Greetings. “Intermittent Signal” emits about once a month. Sometimes longer. Sometimes, like now, more often. But this missive is mostly an announcement and a thank you note. I am thinking of going to a shorter, somewhat more frequent, missives. Maybe.
I’ve recently been charged with being too dark, so today’s images are a little lighter. Metaphorically, I mean. All NYC.
WHILE WAITING FOR RAIN
For those of you interested in the American economy, Buffalo, the fate of the middle class and perhaps the American polity, what might be done by government (law, policy) when things don’t go so well, the idea of the city, transport, manufacturing, education, or Jane Jacobs — which should be pretty much all of you — I highly recommend my colleague Schlegel’s While Waiting for Rain: Community, Economy and Law in a Time of Change. It is a masterwork.
I am hosting a conference, this evening (dinner) and tomorrow. The format is a bit unusual: two roughly two hour conversations among some invited readers. So it should be lively and suggestive!
The conference will be in-person and online, but will also be livestreamed. You can share the link to the Facebook page (below) with anyone interested in watching. A Facebook account is not needed to access the page and livestream.
Facebook Livestream of WFR Conference
Check it out. And read the book.
THIS GIFT ECONOMY
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I give most of my work away, notably except for whole books, most of which are owned by the publisher. The truth is free, as the saying goes. Beauty is often expensive, but it’s wonderful when it isn’t. I want my work to reach people. With this newsletter, I am trying to build audiences, especially outside the academy. Making money is a faint lust. When I become really important, like say Taylor Swift, we might revisit this issue.
Substack is a “start up,” “disruptive,” and a “new way of . . . “ you get it. Very much a child of Silicon Valley business culture, so monetizing is rather the point. Most writers on this platform incentivize folks to pay for a premium subscription by giving premium subscribers access to more content. Free subscriptions, then, are essentially teasers. I’m not against profit, I teach finance and one must try to keep the lights on. That said, I do o.k., and additional readers are more important to me at this juncture than additional dollars. So, rather than Steve Jobs, I’m looking to Marcel Mauss as a model. I hope you’ll help me build audiences of people who might not have resources or desire to pay for yet another content stream.
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Without spending any money at all, you can help the cause by telling your friends and networks about “Intermittent Signal.” Hit the share button, even the silly heart button (feed the AI). That sort of thing.
We live in a strange world. At least I don’t have to be nice to Lorenzo.
More soon.
Safe travels.