I came across an interesting entry in the Wired Geekapedia today, regarding "Free" in the Web 2.0 sense.
"If you build it — and it's cool — they will come. The business model to support it will come later. That's the new economics of the free lunch: Giving away a product or service builds the kind of customer attention and loyalty that rack up earnings. Take a look at Firefox, MySpace, Ubuntu, YouTube, and countless other new-breed products and services that don't cost a penny to use. As scarcity becomes obsolete and bandwidth, storage, and processing grow ever cheaper, old-fashioned vendors will face increasingly skeptical customers asking, what are we paying you for?"
The idea of a free exchange of content really isnt anything new - its one of the most critical foundational tenants of this highly social web 2.0 world we've come to know and love. Though I'm sure you can see the irony. I did think it was fitting that shortly after reading this little blurb, I came across two perfect examples to illustrate the point from opposite ends of the spectrum.
One of the sites I frequent regularly for a dose of pure hilarity is AskANinja - a homegrown episodic vodcast that is as funny as it is nonsensical. AskaNinja has been around for while and had grown into a web phenomenon of epic proportions. And most importantly, its free - always has been and I can only assume always will be. But I couldnt help but notice that episodes are now being brought to me by the new CBS comedy Big Bang Theory, premiering Monday September 24th. Oh I'll rue the day I become so impressionable.
On the other side of the coin is the The New York Times, which is killing its TimeSelect fee based online service and opening up its content for free viewing. Why? In the words of Vivian Schiller, Senior VP and GM of the Times...
"Since we launched TimesSelect in 2005, the online landscape has altered significantly. Readers increasingly find news through search, as well as through social networks, blogs and other online sources. In light of this shift, we believe offering unfettered access to New York Times reporting and analysis best serves the interest of our readers, our brand and the long-term vitality of our journalism. We encourage everyone to read our news and opinion – as well as share it, link to it and comment on it. "
The dichotomy is beautiful, and couldnt illustrate the Wired point any better. On the one hand you have a highly entertaining startup, built from nothing, and seeking nothing, other than to be popular. On the other, a media giant, coming to the web world with an elite reputation and an eye to capitalize on the information super-highway. One distributed its content freely. One didnt. One experienced a viral explosion of popularity. One realized that content hidden by walls of green is content that consumers will find elsewhere. Now one is being sponsored by names like Toshiba and CBS, and one is tearing down their barriers to entry. One has found a way to make money without asking for it, the other has learned that lesson.
I'm not sure anyone really has any answers as far as the best way to capitalize on today's web, though perhaps the best way isnt to capitalize at all. Do what you gotta do, and if it rocks, the dead presidents will find their way to your bank account in time. Though it does beg the question, what will all this mean for old school businesses? After all, AskaNinja is two guys with a camera and a laptop - not a domestic media icon which needs to support hundreds of employees... Hmmm...
Regardless, I think its time ESPN got the memo. Insider content login required is soooooo Web 1.0 ;-)
Image from http://askaninja.wiki-site.com
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