By 2012 there may be 2,000 web sites in the world. Tops. You’ll have to pay to see each one. That’s how things will go when the big media companies and their pets in Washington get their way on so-called net neutrality.
Someday you may see an ad like this in a newspaper:
Yes, that ad will be in newspaper because that’s the only way you’ll be getting your daily does of news and information. And that’s the key to this whole thing: You will, once again, be forced to up your newspaper, magazine, and television viewing because the thing that’s competing with those former profit-centers is the free Internet. The media companies want you to pay for that stuff. Again.
I must confess that I have mixed feelings.
The Internet as a profit system is broken. The mistake was made long ago when the click-through rate on an ad was set to the ridiculously low price of $0.001 per click. It should have been a 10 percent commission, but no. That mistake set the pace for low to no revenue on what should have been a gold mine.
So, for example, say I make $10 for selling my own books and other stuff on this web site. That’s typical for me; my goal isn’t to make money here but at best to have the money pay for the web site. Even so, had the pricing system been set up properly, the fees I get should be more like $1,000. That’s what a “real” reseller would make on the same transactions, but I get ripped off because I sell stuff through a web site. Ditto for the big guys as well.
If the Internet dies, then selfishly I’d make a lot more money. That’s because all the free information, references, and sources on the Internet would dry up overnight. People would be forced to again turn to the bookstores for information like they haven’t done in 10 years or longer.
In fact, I just got an e-mail from a reader in India. He was angry because he had to buy my books instead of getting them free “like everyone else” on the Internet. No one makes even 0.1¢ on a sale when some doofus is giving the stuff away — books, movies, television. That hurts the big companies and they fight back. And that’s the real reason behind “net neutrality.”
I don’t have a comment on “Net neutrality” but I do have a comment on some doofus giving stuff away and whether it’s good or bad. As long as he has the right to it (isn’t stealing someone else’s work) I think it’s fine. It’s a matter of progress. If you can’t make money with one business model, innovate! That’s what keeps our standard of living so high while most of us don’t have to really work that hard. We live in a very comfortable culture. We can go get information for free now and that means it’s one less thing to pay for…it helps the economy. Then everyone who was providing that information for money is forced out of their comfort zone and has to find a different way to provide value for money. Even if they don’t like it. It’s another step in the advancement of technology.
It’s like mechanization in agriculture. Sure, some poor shlub who was picking blueberries is out of a job. But that just forces him to go get more training and provide a different service to the community. And the blueberries are still getting picked.
Sorry for the long, rambling comment…but I think that anytime someone’s income stream is displaced it’s easy to be negative about it when it’s really an opportunity to grow and innovate.
Comment by jamh51 — June 13, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
I agree, jamh51. My problem is that what I do is tied to an industry that dwells in the 18th Century and has so far been unable to adapt to this change. I can adapt, but to do that I have to break with my own industry; it’s not going to change, I’m sad to say.
Comment by admin — June 15, 2008 @ 9:00 pm
I just noticed that the Wikipedia logo still says “The free encyclopedia”.
(As a side note, did you make this up?)
Comment by Douglas — June 18, 2008 @ 2:36 am
It’s still free, but I’ve read elsewhere that they’re interested in sponsors or running advertising now. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone buys them in the future.
Comment by admin — June 18, 2008 @ 8:59 am
The word of the day is “Monotization” — eventually, people do get tired of doing all that work for free (or even a loss) and want to capitalize on it.
And a big reason that Youtube is going to get kicked in the butt and never make any money unless they change drastically:
http://www.hulu.com
A fabulous idea.
Comment by jamh51 — June 23, 2008 @ 1:03 pm