I am a webdeveloper. I perform work. I produce a good. I receive monetary compensation for my goods and services. Just like the good old-fashioned business model. The only problem is, when it comes down to it.. I don’t have anything concrete to show for my efforts. Every “good” I’ve produced is in the realm of “intellectual property.”
What that really means is that it’s intangible. We’re in an age now where tangibility is no longer a requisite for ownership and legitimacy. Something doesn’t have to physically exist for it to be perfectly legit and legal. I guess that’s not such a big deal, it’s just a little bit different than what we’re used to dealing with, and it will take some getting used to.
It’s also not a brand new idea. Ever since people began copyrighting song lyrics, artwork, books and other writings, broadcasts and radio frequencies… the concept of owning and legitimizing something that exists beyond the two-dimensional world has been in play.
It’s still a little odd, and some ways a bit disheartening, to think that none of my accomplishments can be held or touched. They’re ultimately just arrangements of electric currents. I’m proud of them, certainly. But I can’t frame them or keep them in a shoebox to show my grandkids someday.