At the opposite end, I am doing something of value and not making money at it. How do you do something of value and also make money? (And not elicit this kind of criticism -- is it even possible to make money without someone bitching you are doing it wrong and making the world a worse place?)
I have been considering starting an "Ask HN" post but my posts of that sort get little or no response. I am in desperate need of money, getting myself and my sons well when the world says it cannot be done has all come out of my pocket and my pockets aren't deep. I'm deeply in debt and cash flow in recent months has been very ugly. What I am doing is both cheaper and more effective than conventional medicine and some people are benefiting from the information on my website(s) but it isn't paying me anything. It feels incredibly unfair because if I were going the conventional medicine route, the costs would be a great deal higher but much of it would be covered by state aid, federal aid, insurance, etc. So I would get all kinds of "support" and money thrown at my problems for staying sick and getting sicker and sicker until I qualified for disability. But get myself well? On your own b*tch. I have estimated that medical care for people in the US with my condition runs around $3 billion/year. An article I saw recently would put it at roughly $1.5 billion/year. I think that's low, but it's still a lot. There is a recession on. I think I have something of value to offer. But how do you monetize something of value? Maybe this guy is helping folks pay the bills so they can keep offering something of value. Is that such a bad thing? I have often considered yanking my websites because they make no money. People seem to find value in them yet I'm not making anything. I resent that. Why should I benefit others and cut my throat to do so?
Making money is ok, you do have to acquire resources. But you can do it without resorting to creating an advertising network ;)
I'm not sure what the solution is to your problem, but start charging money for some of the information somehow, market it better, put some ads up, I don't know.
If you can get any sort of help from the local community, the state or federal governments, then go for that.
It's hard to help other people or even offer advice sometimes because we have our own personal troubles to deal with.
I have been considering starting an "Ask HN" post but my posts of that sort get little or no response. I am in desperate need of money, getting myself and my sons well when the world says it cannot be done has all come out of my pocket and my pockets aren't deep. I'm deeply in debt and cash flow in recent months has been very ugly. What I am doing is both cheaper and more effective than conventional medicine and some people are benefiting from the information on my website(s) but it isn't paying me anything. It feels incredibly unfair because if I were going the conventional medicine route, the costs would be a great deal higher but much of it would be covered by state aid, federal aid, insurance, etc. So I would get all kinds of "support" and money thrown at my problems for staying sick and getting sicker and sicker until I qualified for disability. But get myself well? On your own b*tch. I have estimated that medical care for people in the US with my condition runs around $3 billion/year. An article I saw recently would put it at roughly $1.5 billion/year. I think that's low, but it's still a lot. There is a recession on. I think I have something of value to offer. But how do you monetize something of value? Maybe this guy is helping folks pay the bills so they can keep offering something of value. Is that such a bad thing? I have often considered yanking my websites because they make no money. People seem to find value in them yet I'm not making anything. I resent that. Why should I benefit others and cut my throat to do so?