‘Free’ Framing Questions

Chris Anderson is my hero. Yes, who wouldn’t agree with a guy who believes in a ‘free’ business model? But it is much more than that. Anderson is a true forward thinker who is helping to drive our nation’s economic system to let go of it’s old ways and evolve to better fit in a digital world. Some of the questions that I still have are:

1.) I heard that the Boston Globe is changing it’s online edition from free to paid. This baffles me. It almost seems like going backwards. Why is it that many newspapers are still struggling with the idea of a free online edition when the main reason they are trouble is because they refused to evolve and adapt in the first place.

2.) As Anderson mentions, software giants, like Google and Facebook, are able to make billions without charging a penny for their products. However other popular sites, like Twitter, are still trying to figure out the best way to make a profit without charging for their service. What kinds of things can sites like Twitter do to increase their profits? Obviously they would lose many users if they charged but is online advertising the key to keeping sites afloat? In that regard, can the Hulu model of ads in streaming video work as a more widespread idea for all free “premium” video?

Tags: Chris Anderson, free