How Would You Monetize Web 2.0?

Most advocates are chanting "free"

[deeanne59]

Most advocates are recommending mashing a couple of APIs together and offering a new "HousingList.com", etc. for free to visitors. Or, they advocate creating a "community" for free chat, blogging, article submission, etc...how can one monetize this?

Some say that if you charge a subscription fee, it would turn off users - because they want it free or "nearly free." It would be difficult to attach affiliate links to the mix, unless you add them as an afterthought way down on the backend. Would you charge for ad space? That would seem limited, considering the amount you would have left over after all of your "sticky" attachments were in place. How could you monetize this so that you could slowly increase your income and cover costs?

If this is posted in the wrong forum, please move it to the appropriate place, thanks.

[Webwork]

Well, you might be able to monetarize your mashup if there was something that generated unique value to the users. This assumes someone else won't be able to duplicate your mashup, which might require patent protection.

Looks like you'll have to spend money to make money and that you'll have to offer a service that user's value before anyone will begin to pay for it.

Simple enough. Get to work. :)

[superpower]

Understand that the concept of Web 2.0 is a marketing gimmick which has been contrived by an alliance of the open source community (ie O'reilly), investment bankers (and internet finaciers), semi-retired geeks with too much time/money on their hands and MS-bashers to reinvigorate online business.

I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing... but don't be too taken aback by it--it's just a reclassification of existing technologies, not a new technology itself.

Web 2.0 concentrates on open source, community-based publishing and apps and apis to leverage that. That's nothing new to many of us who have run community sites.

I would monetize a Web 2.0 site the same way I would monetize any site: low-low costs, high amount of content (mix of free content and unique content), simple but sticky apps to keep people on the site (basic community stuff), SEO, and then monetize all that traffic with 5-10 revenue streams such as paid monthly advertising, adsense, several affiliates, subscriptions etc. If you have an api then you need to drive that traffic back to your site.

It's really a red herring to focus on "Web 2.0".