please read this. or at least just read this paragraph:

This is silly — and wrong. It’s where the often artificial distinction between “customer” and “user” and “product” gets blurry and, at times, questionable, especially in the realm of “user-generated” content. There are more ways to “pay” than with money… …Focusing only on the relationships where actual cash exchanges hands misses the point (greatly).

so… is money really the only thing that gives you a voice?

personal example: tumblr is a free service, yes? yes. ok, i’ve been using this thing for like 3+ years now, and i can’t even begin to list how much time i have invested into the service. and i don’t mean reading my dashboard and posting cute things… i mean making tumblr themes, pitching the platform to freelance clients, suggesting it to people who are looking to get their work online quickly, getting my friends on tumblr, answering the random-ass tumblr support emails that people send me (i know), and generally giving a crap about the state of things. but- i don’t pay for the service. so i ask- do i still have a voice? do i have any right to complain? are these things of no value?