Re: [cod-photolist] No, You Can't Pick My Brain. It Costs Too Much

[Jeff Curto]

Ann... this was great. Thanks for sharing it.

First off, it hit one of my least favorite phrases... "pick your brain." Whenever someone says that to me, I always feel as though they are simply looking for "the thing they want" as opposed to wanting to have any sort of meaningful interaction with me. The picture I always have in my mind is a bird digging up a worm - out of my head. Ick.

Secondly, it hit home in the way that you thought it might... when I substituted "photograph," it felt a lot like the sorts of things that photographers are often asked.

Lastly, it touched on one of the most curious aspects of our information age... the idea in many people's heads that knowledge is (or should be) free, regardless of context. As someone who has been a purveyor of "free information" online for over a decade, I'm a veteran of this issue. At some point, the free stuff that's available doesn't do the job for many people and they need more and will sometimes balk at being asked to pay for it.

I often just want to send people to Google, or, better yet, to:
http://lmgtfy.com/ (try it, it's fun)

The author also rightly points out that for many people, just sorting through the bazillion results in a web search is daunting. Much like those folks who have tried to do a photo job themselves but discover that it's a bigger deal than they thought it was at first.

As the author says, there is nothing wrong with giving away some things, but at some point, you need to draw a line in the sand and recognize that your knowledge (and skill set) is your greatest asset.

-Jeff

On Mar 9, 2012, at 6:02 PM, Ann Mehrman wrote:

> This article deals with knowing the value you have to a client. Although it is not specifically about photography, I think it's easy to substitute "photograph" for advice in this Forbes article by Liz Ryan, "No, You Can't Pick My Brain. It Costs Too Much."
>
> http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2011/03/28/no-you-cant-pick-my-brain-it-costs-too-much/
>
> Ann Mehrman
>
>
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[Ann Mehrman]