The old order of academics has been dealt another disruption in the form of a new university note, essay, and lecture buying and selling site, called Pogojo.
The service allows students to upload their self-made course materials and sell them to other students, all while banking half the money for themselves.
But, wait… isn’t it like IP infringement?
Nope.
As the Pogojo blog kindly points out, students actually own the notes and materials they create in the majority of cases, and on most campuses. Sweet!
Pogojo is inspired by the fact that students actively exchange notes and materials in the real world. But, the Pogojo service is also not about plagiarism – you’re expected to cite the work you use, regardless of where it comes from, or who wrote it.
Seems legit…
The idea behind the service is student-to-student resource sharing, allowing the student who creates the material to make some income from their efforts, beyond their own academic accomplishments.
Remember all those essays and notes from when you were in uni? Now, think about being able to turn those notes into income. Sounds promising, no?
Pogojo Director, Andrew Fairweather says “Students have been handing each other notes for decade to help with their study – this site just makes it easier. We also recognise that students are under more time pressure than ever before and that earning some cash for work they have already done is an attractive opportunity.”
The big idea
The selling of course notes has proven to be controversial elsewhere in the world, but the note-selling model has been taking off around the globe.
Pogojo is bringing it to Australia, and is stirring the debate surrounding the flow of information and the changing dynamic of the world of Academia in the digital age.
Just as mp3s changed the face of the music industry over a decade ago, innovative disruptions like Pogojo are increasingly challenging the long-held stronghold of the academic business by exploiting the increasing discontent surrounding rising education costs.
The key difference is that while the sharing of songs is the sharing of a consumable product, the sharing of learning materials actually supports the socially accepted norms relating to the freedom of information.
Who would have thought that going to classes at University would actually amount to earning some money. Oh, wait…
