Mama is…

Hello Mamas and Papas,

I’m so excited to tell you about this new thing…

But first, some background story in case you’re new, and certain that I’m living in the big house with a staff of 10 by now. I’ve been creating comics over at thecowgoddess.com and now here at mama-is.com since way back in 2002. That’s a LONG time. The internet has given me a way to reach more people than I would have ever been able to reach before and allowed me the chance to self-publish books and occasionally print shirts (I know I know, I need more shirts!) and when I have something new for sale, whenever I post about it for the first time, guess where the first order comes from? Croatia! Now, that’s a cool thing about the internet.

A downside to the internet is that all. content. is. free. Okay, maybe that’s a good side, but if you’re trying to be a content creator it’s not good at all. I’ve tried making money off of selling stuff. I’ve tried adding advertising. I’ve tried donations and selling more stuff and begging and pleading and… and… And ultimately I want all my comics to be free. How else will that new mama see them? But I still wonder, why can’t I make money, is it just that it’s not worth anything to anyone else but me?

But now I’ve realized that it’s not just me, it’s EVERYONE. From the NYTimes and Newsweek, to the lowly bloggers and cartoonists and musicians. Nobody can make any money off this internet thing-y. Here’s an idea, think of your favorite blogger, someone who posts all the time and you read faithfully. She has a fabulous life and great kids, she’s published books, you hang on her every word. Find her contact addy and send her an email. Ask this: How are you doing, really? Are you making a living with your writing? (I promise I’ll answer every email ;o) Your favorite regional or national indy musician, ask him. It’s a rare one who is. This culture, the internet that makes reaching each other so much easier, is turning the content creators, the writers, the artists, the musicians; into serfs. There I said it. Don’t believe me? Read Jaron Lanier’s You Are Not a Gadget, he’ll explain it.

But, finally here comes Kachingle. The coolest idea for supporting the artists and writers and cartoonists that you love. Here’s what you do, sign up and create a kachingle account (see the box with the medallion at the top of my side-bar? Click on that. Go ahead, and I’ll wait here.) You’ll be charged $5 a month and whenever you visit a site with a kachingle medallion on it, and you want to contribute to the work they do, you’ll ‘kachingle’ them. Then at the end of the month all the sites you’ve kachingled will have your $5 divvied up between them, according to how many times you’ve visited them. You do nothing but have fun visiting sites, I might make a buck or two. Believe me, it will be awesome!

Now, here’s the fun part. Kachingle is Brand NEW. There are only a few sites that are kachingle-able. I’m now one of them. The top site on the Kachingle site has 87 people kachingling them. I want, even for a brief day or two to be the number one site. Will you help me? Join Kachingle, and kachingle me. Then talk all of your friends into kachingling me too, the first month of kachingle is a trial period, you can always quit if you don’t like it. And hey, list your site on kachingle also, I’ll kachingle you back!

Thank you!
Love,
Heather

ps. don’t forget to kachingle my other site too!