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SkyBOX: On "Free" & The New World Model
by Evie Haskell
Here are three new-world-order factoids to consider:
1) Microsoft is out of Comcast and 5,000 people are out (or soon to be) at Microsoft.
2) The Pope now has his own channel on YouTube; and
3) Facebook, YouTube and Digg are all scrambling for profits.
So what do these mean?
For the first two (and any number of other factoids I could mention), the meaning is simple: The world as we know it just ain't anymore. Employment (or investment) by cyber software giants is no guarantee of stability and even 80-plus year old Germans steeped in 2,000-year-old beliefs can embrace change.
For the third ... it's what this factoid likely will mean that I find fascinating. After 5, 4 and 5 years (respectively) of operation, none of these web stalwarts have turned a true profit. As you all know, these are BIG players, utilized by millions of people, and the fact that not one has yet to achieve the magic of black ink suggests that we're still miles away from solving the web's monetization puzzle.
This means that the internet – and the way we approach it as multiplatform businesses - is going to have to change significantly. "Free," a friend of mine once commented, "is a difficult business model." That simple fact, I bet, is going to be one of the many major upheavals of 2009.
by Evie Haskell
Here are three new-world-order factoids to consider:
1) Microsoft is out of Comcast and 5,000 people are out (or soon to be) at Microsoft.
2) The Pope now has his own channel on YouTube; and
3) Facebook, YouTube and Digg are all scrambling for profits.
So what do these mean?
For the first two (and any number of other factoids I could mention), the meaning is simple: The world as we know it just ain't anymore. Employment (or investment) by cyber software giants is no guarantee of stability and even 80-plus year old Germans steeped in 2,000-year-old beliefs can embrace change.
For the third ... it's what this factoid likely will mean that I find fascinating. After 5, 4 and 5 years (respectively) of operation, none of these web stalwarts have turned a true profit. As you all know, these are BIG players, utilized by millions of people, and the fact that not one has yet to achieve the magic of black ink suggests that we're still miles away from solving the web's monetization puzzle.
This means that the internet – and the way we approach it as multiplatform businesses - is going to have to change significantly. "Free," a friend of mine once commented, "is a difficult business model." That simple fact, I bet, is going to be one of the many major upheavals of 2009.
