In general, very few people have ever been compensated for their research in the past. In an era before the internet, you probably wouldn't have been published;

In general, very few people have ever been compensated for their research in the past. In an era before the internet, you probably wouldn't have been published; if you had been, you probably wouldn't have sold enough copies to make any significant amount of money. If you're not doing the research for the love, and you're not doing it as your job, and no one is paying you to do new research after being impressed by your old research, and it's not engaging enough to draw a consistent audience, you're completely right. It's hard to get compensated for it. Blaming the web for that seems backwards; for the first time the average person has a shot at even distributing their original research and thought. It's better than before. We just need to figure out the best structure for compensating people. Since that's already happening in the realm of music and TV online, I'm hopeful we'll find some solution for thoughtful writing as well. PS: Link to your online writings?