I just saw this article when perusing DesignTaxi, and was speechless for a few seconds. And then reality once again hit me upside my head. There is nothing unusual with this as this is how all business has been instructed to operate. If you have something good, then by all means, charge for its use. What started out as another altruistic company is now becoming all too predictable. I can only wonder if any company can hold on to their good intentions for the long haul?!
If you are linking to Google Maps as an easy and free way to direct your customers to you, you had better check your traffic to make sure that you fall within their free criteria of 25,000 hits. But I also have a question to pose to everyone: Does the business world intend to charge for every thing that they produce, no matter how small? Because if you are, then you might want to prepare for potential negative repercussions. Of course, work should be compensated, but you should also take into account your original intentions for the work’s creations. If you are claiming to be socially-supportive, then you might want to let your audience know of the limitations to your support so that they are prepared for the inevitable changes that will affect them.
Business’ sole pursuit of unimpeded profit-seeking is already being called into question by so many people around the world. I guess that some companies aren’t overly concerned about the voices? But what will happen when work gets re-engineered to socially responsible work? Only then will people stop and think about every action to ensure that they are making them for the right reasons.
