
Internet free ride soon over - nreece
http://business.theage.com.au/business/internet-free-ride-soon-over-20090612-c67w.html
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TomOfTTB
I think it's time we all realize people who say stuff like this are just
trying to get attention. The Internet is not a thing in and of itself. It's a
designation we use to refer to an extremely varied group of things (web sites,
Web applications, IM, etc...)

So no one can accurately say "the Internet is going to do [x]" because there
are a billion different business models at play. Yes, some free content will
be moved behind a pay wall but some content behind a pay wall will start being
given away for free. Because every business will have a slightly different
business plan.

So someone who says stuff like this is just trying to stir the pot and not
trying to seriously engaged in a conversation.

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timr
That's true -- but only so far as absolute statements are usually wrong at the
fringes. But the simple-minded retort that _"other people will provide content
for free, so you will too"_ is laughable.

Pay models are clearly going to become much more important, if only because
the cost of good content isn't going down, while ad rates are dropping like a
rock. Consider the fact that it's effectively impossible to make someone look
at your ad on the internet (it's only a matter of time before ad-blockers
become common), and it's pretty clear that the ad-supported internet model is
on the wane.

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TomOfTTB
I don't know if that's true but at least that's a serious point worthy of
discussion (unlike the speaker here).

That said I don't think the ad-model is on the wane. I just think it looks
that way because of a paradigm shift from what used to be a local world. In
other words everyone used to need a local paper and all those papers carried
the same AP stories. Now you have a world where all those papers compete
against each other and obviously a lot of them are going to go out of
business.

But that's not a problem with the Ad model it's just the economy of news
shifting due to technological change. The money's still out there it's just
consolidated.

My personal opinion, and it's just an opinion, but from what I've seen content
that can't support an ad model usually isn't content people are willing to pay
for.

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DLWormwood
The big problem that people that make this prediction don't realize is that
people are _already paying for the Internet_. Overlooking the capital costs of
the hardware to use it, most people are paying a monthly fee to either a phone
company or cable provider for access. In many end users' minds, they are
already paying, so why should they pay "again?" As a couple of the more savvy
people interviewed in the article point out, what content can be charged for
on top is already being paid for by now. (Just like a few people are willing
to pay for premium channels on cable, but most just watch the basic package.)

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tybris
What the statement suggests is that online advertisement is not a viable
business. Try telling that to Google. Nonetheless, I'm sure there are going to
be tons of sites offering paid, relevant services, but that's an easy
prediction because there are tons of sites offering paid, relevant services
today.

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haseman
Haven't we heard this 'You will have to pay on the internet' many many times
before? Why is this time any different?

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blhack
I hope it does go this way...

Why?

Because I will continue offering content for free.

(tip: I'm being snarky. If this does happen, there will be a LOT of people who
still offer content for free.)

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TrevorJ
And the suits think they have trouble with piracy NOW?

