[Report from Internet World, Boston, Oct. 30, 1995]
Reporting for Web Review are Richard Koman, D.C. Denison, Kirsten Alexander and special reporters Jim Davis and Tanya Bezreh .
Bostonian Richard Seltzer leads a dual life. Residing during the conference at the Digital booth, he was pointed out to me as the only guy in a "yellow jacket" -- everyone else was looking ultra-corporate. Off-duty, Richard runs one of the most popular Web sites around, the B&R Samizdat Express , which distributes free online books and an excellent newsletter. His high hit count is all the more impressive when you realize there are no graphics on the site.
Richard's title on his business card is "Internet Evangelist," and it's a job he clearly loves. A small publisher since the 1970s, the Internet has finally solved his -- and many other small publishers' -- distribution problem, which, with the Web, is now essentially free. But why give away your content too? "Raw information should be free," says Richard. "The real value is in doing the selection, adding your intelligence...If you really have value added, people will pay for it."
Maybe they're not paying for it, but the surprising big hit count winner on the Samizdat site this month has been a gentle essay Richard wrote in 1984, Why Bother to Save Halloween .
--K.A.
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