Fracture | Hearts and Minds

"Making the web pay | The end of the free lunch"

Interesting article in the Economist forecasting an end to all your favourite web services being free.

If anything, in the short term I’d expect to just see more “30 day free trials” and “free basic accounts” with a paid premium option. If this is the way things go, personally I won’t mind. Paying a little (yes, it has to be a little) for things I use every day that really make my life easier does not seem unreasonable at all.

I’ve wondered for a while whether the expectation to fund sites just through banner ads was realistic, no matter how many eyeballs you’re getting in front of them. People are more and more resistant to being advertised to, and even thought there are some very clever banners being produced, it’s a limited medium in terms of size and filesize allowances.

Doesn’t it seem more straightforward to offer a free trial or basic version of your product to get people hooked, then get them to pay a very small amount for something they really enjoy, and spread it by telling their friends about it? That may be pretty simplistic, but if your product is really great, that model should work (article via @bud_caddell)