Study Confuses Online Content And Services… Again
from the not-quite-the-same-thing dept
Yet another misleading study has come out talking about how online users are increasingly willing to pay for content online. The problem is, the study doesn’t distinguish between “content” and “services” – and, in fact, the biggest single category of “content” they claim people paid for were online dating services. That’s not content. That’s a service. In fact, for most online dating services the “content” itself is free – it’s the connecting (the service) that costs money. It would be interesting to see how many people are actually paying for content online – but that’s not what this study shows – and suggesting it does is misleading.
Comments on “Study Confuses Online Content And Services… Again”
I will NEVER pay for content!
Ever!
must be unique
Online content must be unique and relevant if someone is going to pay money for it. I have subscribed to various sites at various times to sites that offered unique and to me valuable content. But if it’s something that can be obtained for free elsewhere on the internet (or on TV) no one is going to pay for it. There’s too much free content out there, even porn.
What needs to be done is to create a new ad revenue model for the internet. Click-throughs were annoying as hell and so are pop-ups. Banner ads aren’t too bad and if companies use them to build brand recognition they should call that acceptable. When I see a commercial on TV I don’t run out to the store, so why should a company expect me to click on a banner ad just because I saw it on a website?