Comments on: Demise of the Business Model of "Free"? Are Freemium and Micropayment Revenue Models the Future? http://howtostartasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/17/demise-of-the-business-model-of-free-are-freemium-and-micropayment-revenue-models-the-future/ How to start a social network, including social network business models, financing, marketing, management, member engagement and software. Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:34:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: It is not what you can give away, it is what you can charge for « Deliver now! Innovate continuously! http://howtostartasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/17/demise-of-the-business-model-of-free-are-freemium-and-micropayment-revenue-models-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-314 It is not what you can give away, it is what you can charge for « Deliver now! Innovate continuously! Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:52:00 +0000 http://scorechicago.wordpress.com/?p=3291#comment-314 [...] related discussion on this see a post by Peg Corwin in her Score Chicago blog. She discusses Chris Anderson’s model  and the proposal by Walter Isaacson on [...] [...] related discussion on this see a post by Peg Corwin in her Score Chicago blog. She discusses Chris Anderson’s model  and the proposal by Walter Isaacson on [...]

]]> By: Rags Srinivasan http://howtostartasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/17/demise-of-the-business-model-of-free-are-freemium-and-micropayment-revenue-models-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-313 Rags Srinivasan Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:41:32 +0000 http://scorechicago.wordpress.com/?p=3291#comment-313 Gordon Crovitz wrote an opinion piece in Monday's WSJ on 'Information wants to be expensive'. The title is misleading, but the article makes a case for why news media should charge and what content they can charge for. Crovitz says the question is not whether we can charge but what differentiated content we can offer and can charge for. One problem I find with Chris Anderson's discussion is his argument that the marginal cost of digital goods is $0.00 and hence the price comes down to the same. Cost has nothing to do with price and only for undifferentiated commodities the price will spiral down to MC. The problem is most online services are undifferentiated or due to their sheer number become one. I see no reason to give away for free any online service. -rags Gordon Crovitz wrote an opinion piece in Monday’s WSJ on ‘Information wants to be expensive’. The title is misleading, but the article makes a case for why news media should charge and what content they can charge for. Crovitz says the question is not whether we can charge but what differentiated content we can offer and can charge for.

One problem I find with Chris Anderson’s discussion is his argument that the marginal cost of digital goods is $0.00 and hence the price comes down to the same. Cost has nothing to do with price and only for undifferentiated commodities the price will spiral down to MC. The problem is most online services are undifferentiated or due to their sheer number become one.

I see no reason to give away for free any online service.
-rags

]]> By: Peg Corwin http://howtostartasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/17/demise-of-the-business-model-of-free-are-freemium-and-micropayment-revenue-models-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-315 Peg Corwin Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:11:24 +0000 http://scorechicago.wordpress.com/?p=3291#comment-315 Dan, Thanks for your blog comment about Asian markets. Maybe online games are less fungible than news? If one newspaper starts charging, readers just go to others that are free. But gamers are not so easily satisfied with alternative games? Dan, Thanks for your blog comment about Asian markets. Maybe online games are less fungible than news? If one newspaper starts charging, readers just go to others that are free. But gamers are not so easily satisfied with alternative games?

]]> By: Dan Taylor http://howtostartasocialnetwork.com/2009/02/17/demise-of-the-business-model-of-free-are-freemium-and-micropayment-revenue-models-the-future/comment-page-1/#comment-316 Dan Taylor Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:48:14 +0000 http://scorechicago.wordpress.com/?p=3291#comment-316 The free-to-play microtransaction business model has been wildly successful in the Asian gaming market, and now proving a success in the US. Applying the mechanism to media for microtransaction purchases of content wouldn't really be that far of a stretch, as the financials behind said transaction are much less complex than online games. The free-to-play microtransaction business model has been wildly successful in the Asian gaming market, and now proving a success in the US. Applying the mechanism to media for microtransaction purchases of content wouldn’t really be that far of a stretch, as the financials behind said transaction are much less complex than online games.

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