My thoughts on TekPub and paid for guidance

I recently signed up to a 30 day access to TekPub. This is not a free subscription which makes this experience unlike others I have had in the past. I initially discovered it from a Scott Hanselman’s post. I was surprised to learn that TekHub has been around for a while and yet it is only now that has come to my attention.

The Get Involved! video focuses on how developers or other IT professionals can raise their games, get involved and achieve more by the use of social tools and techniques.  I’m glad to say that I was pleased with the content of this video. The production and contents are of a high quality. I really do feel inspired after watching the video even though I wouldn’t classify myself as a complete novice to some of the ideas mentioned. Sometimes its good to hear what you already know from someone else as its reassuring that other, more established individuals are suggesting the same approach. Scott Hanselman and Rob Connery do a very good job in clearly communicating and demonstrating the types of good practices developers with ambitions should be carrying out. This comes as no surprise as this is consistent with the quality of material I’ve recently seen from their blogs and podcasts.  I hope that more videos like these are produced to encourage / guide people to get more from interacting with others in the community. 

For me, paying for guidance content from the internet is a new thing. Since a young age, I have been learning from the internet without having to spend money (Though I remember a period when I did not have the internet and learnt by playing with technology). I’m sure I’m not alone in this. People always want something for nothing. I’m not immune to this way of thinking. Though looking at things from the other end of the spectrum, I can imagine that people producing content must feel that the feeling of fulfilment by helping others and creating an online reputation only goes so far.  The costs of neglecting family, buying equipment, paying for hosting and not resting, must all add up.

This is why I decided to pull my wallet out. I think it is important that people who want to give something back to the community get rewarded. In the case of Scott Hanselman and Rob Connery, It was a no brainer. I have been enjoying / benefiting / learning from their free content for many years now. I almost feel embarrassed that I have not spent money with them before and have been leeching off their good work.

What this makes me wonder is whether our community has got into the habit of gaining something for nothing. Do we as a community need to start changing our attitude towards rewarding people for their efforts? Have we gone too far towards thinking that open source means one should only contribute towards it with expertise rather than money. Surely someone out there is having to pay for equipment, hosting, services and bandwidth bills.

I also wonder if there are more talented people out there who the community would benefit from or whether existing content producers can produce higher quality content which people may be willing to pay for. May be we need more content that needs to be paid for rather than getting everything for free. I wonder what others in the community think about this.

In the case of TekPub’s pricing, I have not formed a strong opinion on whether it is cheap enough. In my case, I was helped by discount code. I have to say, that really helped in making my decision. I have to also point out that I’m living and working in London as a SharePoint Technical Lead Developer and I understand that not everyone else will be in the same position to make such a financial decision. It does make me wonder if someone in a place like India may be able to afford it as I can. Maybe as they say, you can not satisfy everyone!

I am pleased with the experience thus far and I hope the community is also thinking positively towards paid for content.