Douglas Rushkoff: ‘I Would Do It for Arianna. I Won’t Do It for AOL’

In a recent Guardian essay, author Douglas Rushkoff declared that he will not write for The Huffington Post now that AOL will acquire the sprawling site for $315 million.

Here’s more from the essay: “Arianna didn’t zig, she zagged: she’s not leaving publishing for politics. Rather, she is taking the helm of AOL’s news properties, from Engadget to local webpaper amalgam, Patch. HuffPo and Arianna will now be part of AOL, for real. We’re not really witnessing the demise of HuffPo – just the demise of the justifications for writing for free. I would do it for Arianna. I won’t do it for AOL.”

What do you think? In September, Rushkoff wrote “Why Johnny Can’t Program” for The Huffington Post. He also spoke at our 2010 eBook Summit, explaining that “BookScan is a writer’s nightmare.”