

Everything “Free” is Subsidized - jasonlbaptiste
http://personalmba.com/everything-free-is-subsidized/

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philwelch
This is a rehash of the old "no free lunch" argument. The difference is, most
of what you see in the news media is opinion, hype, and repetition, and
instead of paying 100 people to produce that full time, you can have 100,000
people generate it for free, select the top 100, and get better quality
content.

Does anyone honestly think that the "breaking news" cycle of TV news conveys
any more information than you'd get searching on the relevant Twitter hashtag?

Those of us who actually want good journalism are a niche market. We aren't
well-served by most of the media and we won't be well-served from most of the
internet, but there is a niche market selling to us. The Economist meets that
market, and the NY Times aspires to. But most news has turned into the type of
tabloid news that, frankly, can be produced at much lower price and annoyance
by sites like Huffington Post.

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noodle
i would agree if the article said that everything "free" does actually get
paid for in some form (especially with respect to business dealings).

but a "subsidy" and to "subsidize" has a specific meaning that isn't as
universally applicable as the article tries to make it.

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chinmi
Then what is this specific meaning that the author fails to understand?

I think it's pretty clear what he means by it.

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noodle
i understand what he's saying just fine, and i would understand it if he used
"taxed" or something similar instead. i'm probably just being too picky about
semantics here, but i'm taking issue with the actual redefinition of a
specific economic term on a well respected business site.

n) subsidy (a grant paid by a government to an enterprise that benefits the
public) <http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=subsidy>

A subsidy (also known as a subvention) is a form of financial assistance paid
to a business or economic sector. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidy>

