11 ms·
This isn't exactly "patronage", IMO, it is like dropping a few coins in a street performer's hat on the way to work. It's much stronger than that. It's like dr
by japhyr 14y ago
This isn't exactly "patronage", IMO, it is like dropping a few coins in a street performer's hat on the way to work.
It's much stronger than that. It's like dropping a few coins in a street performer's hat on the way to work, and making a commitment to drop the same number of coins in that person's hat every day.
It's even stronger, though. It's like handing a $10 bill (or more) to a trusted person standing next to the street performer, knowing that person will drop the same amount of money in the performer's hat every day. And further, you make a commitment to renew that $10 whenever necessary.
Gittip is removing the friction from making small, recurring donations. That is a powerful model, and if it continues to grow, a not insignificant number of people will be drawing a reliable, meaningful income from their open source work.
- cjdrake 14y agoI agree with your points. Perhaps my use of "drop a few coins" sounds a little more dismissive than I was intending. Artistic patronage is when a rich guys pays you a salary to produce art. When Michaelangelo worked for the pope, his "day job" was to build the pope's tomb :). Gittip allows people to tip artists, and it does this very well. Can it truly be extended to patronage?
- whit537 14y agoYes, Gittip is crowd-sourced patronage. In another context I've said that Gittip will be born when the first person announces that they're depending on it for their livelihood: http://ryandeussing.com/blog/2012/09/24/chad-whitacre-gittip/ http://ryandeussing.com/blog/2012/09/24/chad-whitacre-gittip... Personally, I think we'll get there in a year or two.