August 2012 Update: I have been managing this blog for about 12 months now. Each day between 500 and 1000 people come and visit, and I thank you all for your support.

Thanks again to all the cartoonists in Australia, and I am sorry to those whose work now has limited exposure due to the paywall policies that proliferate. I understand the need for a viable publishing model, but in the days of the internet, personal blogs, mashups, syndication, tweets and retweets and creative commons, I really don’t agree with the locking up of great content that edifies the reader and in this case the nation.

The latest hot social network site is Pinterest, and it is entirely based on republishing cool images. The whole site is built on images being “pinned”or liked and shared, and it all moves so fast that IP is rarely a consideration. Ownership is not claimed, and commercial gain is not sought, rather, great content is shared.

My Pinterest site is here:   http://pinterest.com/sparkyone1/   It is just a repost of great images on this site, none of which I claim ownership or seek to gain commercial benefit. I only use Twitter and Pinterest to broaden the reach of this site and build backlinks to it to gain credibility for Google.

Facebook, has now moved to their (annoying) timeline format. Again, this is all about sharing images more so than written content. Images and videos, for our short attention span, makes the internet go round. Facebook buys Instagram, so that photos taken on the ubiquitous smart phone can be edited and uploaded on the run. Images and videos are the content that people love and we are encouraged to share through all these means.

Political Cartoons: Superior Art – the thoughtful image

(Ok, so they are not fine art, but…) Political cartoons are the preeminent images on the internet. Why? Because they are created with love, time, purpose talent and intellect. They are not a happy snap made cool by an after-market filter. They take thought, planning, understanding of the pulse of the community, the mood of the nation: they ask us to reflect and they challenge our personal views. Political cartoons ask questions, poke and prod. They can travel into territory that is unpleasant and succinctly make a point, like no other medium.

The Australian cartoonists campaign against Syria is a great example of principled content that should be shared around the world. Not hidden behind a paywall. Political cartoonists take an important issue, and further the debate, challenge our own thoughts, make us laugh, make us angry. Political cartoonists, working at their peak, take two, three or more current themes and turn them into works of art. Take a look at this brilliant David Pope below.

I am proud to re-post the great work of our cartoonists. I have had a number of these cartoonists contact me and thank me for doing so.  I hope that this work expand their reach, and helps them to sustain and build their personal business.

I am extremely grateful to those newspapers who are keeping the access to their newspapers open. I am having great difficulty getting into some sites. Even when I sign up to the subscription. If any reader can find an “easy access”  to Herald Sun cartoons please let me know. I just can’t afford the monthly signup to The Aus, Fin Review, Herald Sun etc. I get dozens of people coming here every day looking for a Mark Knight cartoons from the HeraldSun. I am sorry to disappoint on that front, as I cant get in to see them myself.

The paywall is counter current culture. Content should be shared and celebrated, as per the Creative Commons licensing ideal.

 Pat Campbell…