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The Danger of Free - ReadWriteWeb

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The paths that we are taking lead to confused customers at best; and monopolistic practices at worst. A culture where consumers think that increasingly more and more services should be free is not healthy.

Highlighted by bibliothecaire

A culture where consumers think that increasingly more and more services should be free is not healthy.

Highlighted by doobii

The problem is, things are just not that simple. When the economy is bad (think 2008), then advertising is the first to be cut. Now if your sole revenue source is advertising, then your revenue gets hit hard. The traditional subscriber base, which helps companies navigate through the economic downturns, is just not there, because it is no longer cool to charge people for the service.

Highlighted by howell

who wants to compete with free?

Highlighted by doobii

freak out

Highlighted by absolutesubzero

Teens are growing up with not only a sense of expectation of free, but sense of entitlement to free. Of course my social network is free! But why? The phone is not free, television is not free, clothing, food, house - everything else is not free. Is this not a paradox?

Just a few decades ago, people had low expectations and worked hard to make living. They did not know free and never expected it. Now, the opposite trend is happening, with free becoming expected online. Will the new generation, the one that expects something for nothing, work as hard to maintain the high standards of living that we created?

Highlighted by bibliothecaire

The free on the web is not free either. We are receiving the services in exchange for our time and attention, in exchange for the opportunity to be advertised to.

Highlighted by doobii

From the effectiveness of advertising to monopolistic market plays, free is making a lot of people nervous. The libraries are free because we pay taxes, but Microsoft Office is not free and probably should not be free.

Highlighted by bibliothecaire