On Paying the Ricochet Fee
What do you get for the Ricochet fee?
My yearly subscription came up last week. It was going to cost me $30 for the year. If there was a time to reconsider Ricochet, last week was that time. Also, on Sunday I joined a few other Ricochet folks for a meetup. It was pleasant enough, but again, it provoked a question on whether Ricochet is worth the cost and the trouble. On the drive home, I formed the question in a very simple way: what do you get for the Ricochet fee?
My answer is in two parts. First, with Ricochet, you get an audience.
We’ve probably all heard the Rob Long pitch a hundred times. I like the features that he promotes. But what works for me is that Ricochet is a fairly special audience. The code of conduct and the fee combine to create a membership filled with people I’d like to talk with. They can be critical, for sure, but the criticism is civil, usually constructive, occasionally funny, and more often than not, positive. The membership has turned out to be intelligent, diverse, and they bring a lot of experience to the site. Best of all, no matter how badly someone else might hate what you write … you’re saved by a 200-word limit. Even if a critic despises everything you stand for, the most you ever need endure is a two hundred word slam. (If only I could impose such a limit on my teenage daughters.)
But the second part is as important as the first: why do you need an audience?
It’s not just a selfish thrill of seeing your name in public. The media is the major part of this country’s collective consciousness. But for the most part, the media is structured to flow information in only one direction. They tell you. They inform you. They shape you. If you’re like me, you occasionally want to push back a little. I really don’t want Rachel Maddow explaining the “meaning” of events to me. I occasionally want to tell Paul Krugman to keep his self-indulgent snobbery to himself. And yes, I occasionally want to tell Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity to give it a rest.
Right now, there are only three ways to interact with the media. You either have to drag down their ratings (hard for one viewer to do that), organize a boycott (I rarely buy their products in the first place), or write letters to the editor (sure, of course they respect your opinion! I’m sure they’ll take what you say to heart!). The media do more than host the nation’s conversation – they also rig the game so that the conversation will promote what they want promoted. Congress was supposed to be where we had an honest conversation with each other, but they checked out of that role a long time ago.
I want something more than that. I’d like our nation’s collective consciousness guided by something more mature than a small fraction of neurotic morons with nice hair. That’s why, as a responsible, tax-paying, and occasionally intelligent adult, I’d like to participate in the national conversation, unedited and unrestrained by the people whose “news judgment” is measurably insane.
The only way to take the nation’s conversation away from those lunatics is to start a better one ourselves. That’s why I want an audience. It’s not to see my name in public, but to be an active part of a conversation that’s bigger than me, but isn’t controlled by the lunatics who run the current media.
For me, that’s worth a lot more than $30.
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Comments:
May '12
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I agree and would like to add a benefit. I think there is much to learn here.
I tend to spend time around like minded folks and we can become an echo chamber. I like that there are very smart articulate folks here at Ricochet that can/will:
1. Challenge positions I take so that I will perhaps go back and revisit why or how I arrive at a conclusion. James of England aka The Best Spokesman Gov. Romeny Will Ever Have is a good example.
2. Open my eyes to new topics I've not previously considered. Fred Cole and all the subtleties of being a Libertarian is another good example.
Mar '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
Well put, KCM. It's interesting because my understanding of the value of Ricochet has changed over the 2 years I've been a member. First, I joined for the podcasts, especially Law Talk. It took me about a year to figure out what the Member Feed was. And another 3 months to get up the moxie to post. But now I get it: I don't need my own blog, Ricochet is a selectively crowd-sourced audience for community blogging. Goodness, the fee is nothing compared to the work it would take to build that audience solo, if I could do it at all.
Oct '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
What a perfect way to refer to the media and congress!
(If the folks that run Ricochet can't make a success of it with such fabulous feedback, it just can't be done. I'd argue that Ricochet is already a success, and a growing one, if measured by customer satisfaction and by influence on the national 'conversation' -- the links to Ricochet articles seem to me to be appreciably growing in number and quality month by month.)
May '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
For $30 a year, how is this not a bargain? I keep asking that they add a tip jar so we can kick in additionally to be sure that revenue grows even during the slow times.
You wouldn't believe what I spent $32.88 on this morning without a second thought. And the air conditioning repair guy charged $200, which was a bargain as well under the weather circumstances.
Ricochet- your least guilty pleasure.
Dec '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
Hear Hear! The benefit of an audience is enormous. I could write all day and never improve at it. Here, however, I've been able to hone the skill while also being forced to take a hard look at many of the ideas I've held without critically evaluating them. And I'm sure I've been a boon to those who wanted to improve their patience with contrary shrimp.
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
On behalf of all of us at Ricochet, thank you.
On behalf of all of us neurotic morons with nice hair -- ouch.
May '12
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
Good point on improved writing. I am amazed at how much I can get into 200 words now.
May '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I get the ideas. It helps me both clarify my thoughts and and it helps me think of things in new ways.
May '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I joined for the Main Feed. I stayed for the Member Feed....and the Intel tab. Personally, I find the Main Feed contributors to vary pretty widely in quality while varying much less in orientation. And there seems to be a lot of self-promotion of the look-what-I-wrote-on-my-blog sort; trying to run up the "hit count.". On the Member Feed I find a much higher average quality -- 200 words focuses the mind wonderfully (I recall a topic where a Contributor said he couldn't address the topic in 200 words....but scores of Members did so quite succinctly) -- and a wider range of topics and perspectives. In short, Ricochet is like the best ever cocktail party that never ends. Add in the occasional meetup, both face to face and telephonic, and it is simply a wonderful and interesting group of people.
Edited on July 24, 2012 at 7:02amAug '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I think the value to me is not having to maintain my own blog, which I did for years. That and the reality that if I am going to post something, it had better be lucid lest I invite scorn.
So ,with that mind, I will try to be lucid. Now about those ipad postings.....
It is a fantastic site, take it from someone who has been blogging for a very long time. What better companions during a 2 hour walk or a long car ride than the podcasts ?
And the members ! What an erudite crew they are . I have made some friends here at Ricochet. I want to express my appreciation of the good sense exhibited by Diane, the devotion of Mollie, the hipness of Emily, and the global sweep that is Claire . And that is just the girls- the guys are all amazing. Where else can we get Rupert Murdoch, John Yoo, Groseclose.....astounding ?!?!
Congratulations and thanks to Ricochet. Best thirty bucks you'll find .
Jan '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
Troy Senik, Ed.: On behalf of all of us at Ricochet, thank you.
On behalf of all of us neurotic morons with nice hair -- ouch. · 30 minutes ago
Ha! Of course, not every neurotic moron has nice hair, nor is everyone with nice hair a neurotic moron ... but the probabilities seem to collide in newsrooms, especially TV newsrooms.
It's kind of a situation that begs for the late Douglas Adams, isn't it?
Aug '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I joined mainly because of the podcasts. Law Talk is one of my favorite podcasts. The Ricochet main podcast is excellent, but it is free.
The conversations on this site are very good. The posts are interesting and they are challenging. The best thing is that Ricochet has a good posting environment. Everyone is wrong from time to time, but it's okay to be wrong on Ricochet. The disagreements are respectful and the criticisms are insightful.
Jan '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
You can join twice under separate e-mails so that you can "Like" your own comments. (That's the only way I can get my comments appreicated). :)
Maybe the owners of Ricochet would "Like" this comment for the renevue aspect alone!
May '10
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I find the podcasts are easily worth the $30 a year. The online discussions and group meetups are the icing on the cake.
Nov '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
To any of you reading this who are not members, or are on the fence about joining,
I will tell you the truth:
Ricochet is worth every dime.
Dec '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
Thanks KC for re-upping. You have always added value to my membership. Looking at your avatar I don't want to give you too big a head since the hat is small enough already.:-)
What I love about Ricochet is the variety. There are serious post mixed in with the lighthearted humorous ones. We have not only the American scene but England, Australia, and even Japan related to us. I enjoy the mingling of the superb writers with the rest of us. I like the mundane posts along with the esoteric ones. It is a wonderful "stew" without a lot of people getting "stewed" over things.
Edited on July 23, 2012 at 11:10pmDec '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
Fred, thanks for the compliment.
Fred Cole: To any of you reading this who are not members, or are on the fence about joining,
I will tell you the truth:
Ricochet is worth every dime. · 9 minutes ago
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
"That’s why, as a responsible, tax-paying, and occasionally intelligent adult, I’d like to participate in the national conversation, unedited and unrestrained by the people whose “news judgment” is measurably insane."
That's it exactly! When the important hair people want to know what people of good sense think, they can come here and get an education.
Jun '12
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
I came here for the free beer. Still waiting. :(
Jan '11
Re: On Paying the Ricochet Fee
That's OK FloppyDisk90 - I'm still waiting for my free book from Ben Domenech for accurately predicting that Obamacare would be upheld 5-4! :D
http://ricochet.com/main-feed/The-Obamacare-Decision-Pool #12