Will we pay for content?

According to some forecasters, paid content will increase to $2bn this year

[engine]

I'm not sure if this has turned up somewhere else but, according to Jupiter, [internet.com] it's said that paid content will reach new heights this year.

Will we pay for content?

I believe we will become more selective and choose our favourite, informed comment sites that provide a unique perspective on the chosen subjects.

Free content will probably remain so, as it does in other sectors of industry, however, it will become perceived as a low value commodity as it'll be available everywhere.

As the web matures, high quality content will become a valued resource and it'll be far more acceptable to pay for the information.

Time to get your credit cards ready?

[chiyo]

Yes, we will pay for quality content inevitably. the main question is how long it will take for web users to get used to it. They will, but it will take a bit of work, and some time.

Yes free content will still be a big part of the web. And a lot of that will remain quality too, sponsored by advertising, interest groups, and businesses who provide it as part of their web prescence.

IId give it 2 to 3 years for paid content for certain quality sites to really make an impact on the nature of the web. If miscropayments ever took off, that could be a good alternative to advertising for the smaller quality providers.

[Smiley]

According to an article in the Sunday Times on the 23rd March business web users are already paying heavily for content. They reported that Reed Elsevier (an Anglo Dutch publisher specialising in legal, scientific and business publications) generated sales of £1 billion on the internet, and claim it makes them in third position in the online revenue stakes behind AOL Time Warner and Amazon.com.

So by the look of things content is already doing very well in terms of business customers.

As the web matures, high quality content will become a valued resource and it'll be far more acceptable to pay for the information.

I agree with you engine, once users realise the value of paying for high quality content (together with the extra interactivity, searching and cross referencing capabilities only the internet can offer) then more business, and individual customers will start reaching for their credit card.

[chiyo]

Reed Elsevier are a bit different as a major publisher and distributor. Their products were provided electronically well before the web came about, and exist whether there is a web or not. Its just that academic and corporate libraries and info centres like to get their latest journals quick and indexable rather than waiting for the post.

So im not sure i would see Elseviers case as an indicator for Web-dedicated content as such.

[Even_Steven]

No doubt that consumers will spend more money for online content, but that should not be confused with paid-content gaining ground on free-content.

Free-content will still account for more than 90% of all content on the web. Perhaps as much as 99%.

Don't forget the fact that the Internet was created to make information more easily and widely accessible. On top of that, web hosting is becoming cheaper and cheaper by the month, as more companies enter the market place.

What this means is that we will continue to be deluged with information, as more and more people publish their expertise.

Spending on paid content will continue to grow, but the amount of free-content will grow so quickly, that percentage of paid-content versus free-content will shrink and shrink.

Tools like Web Logs, and drag-n-drop site publishing, will make it easier for people to publish, while search engine technology will make it easier for people to find content.

There will always be some types of content that people will pay for, but the realm of free-content is grow even more huge.