There isn't a week that goes by that I am not contacted by somebody wanting to use one of my photos from my Flickr account. Sometimes it's just a blogger, but more and more it's a publication. Recently there have been a run of chambers of commerce and CVBs who find my photos of their towns from my travels. I don't ask for monetary compensation, just a simple photo credit and a copy of the publication.

Like many other bloggers, most of the content I produce is covered under a Creative Commons license. You're free to do what you want with my photos and blog posts as long as you attribute me and share-alike. When I relay this story to traditional media audiences they are often baffled. Why do all these people give their stuff away, for free!

Well like many other folks I'm not in it to make money directly off my content by selling it or allowing advertising on it. I make money off the services I provide, so like Dave Winer has said, the content is the ad, for me.

Getting back to photography, I am constantly pointing folks to Flickr for stock photos. Chances are you can find somebody that has taken a photo under a CC license that you can use. All you need to do is following the licensing terms, or contact them directly if you wish to discuss using the photo in a way that doesn't fit the CC license.

When I attend a conference and take photos, I seek out other bloggers at the event and point them to my photos from the event telling them they're free to use them in their posts, "Take my pictures, Please!" The end result? Other blogs use my photos and link to me, and I am getting offers to attend conferences for free (or reduced cost) to take pictures. Who says giving something away for free doesn't pay off?