Quote:
Originally Posted by HansTWN
The only reasonable way to go "free" is advertising. So for those who would enjoy an ebook with a half page ad on every page, I am sure Google will accomodate you soon enough. And I don't believe that authors will get a better deal this way.
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I don't think advertising is the only way. I think someone will probably come up with something that works and it may surprise us all. It may be a combination of things - advertising, subscriptions, etc.
I think TV/video will go the advertising way. A watermark in the corner of the screen that changes every 10 minutes, product placement, and maybe the occasional ad. And the content will be totally free to access. It's no different to TV now really, and ads can be more accurately targeted. A lot of video podcasts work on advertisements.
Maybe we'll buy breakfast cereal with a short story printed on the inside of the box and 'cover art' on the front. Maybe we'll pop a pill and 'dream' a story at night.
Most of the comments I've heard about the future of the media still have some level of assumption that the future will look like the past. We may not read novels in 10 years. It may simply be impossible for an author to spend 2 years writing something he can't guarantee getting paid for. We may all listen to books with ads in them.
Do you think the pioneers of film foresaw TV (or Star Wars for that matter)? Do you think Alexander Graham Bell foresaw the Internet?
The amazing technology coming out has incredible potential, but it also has the potential to change media more radically than anyone can imagine.
At the end of the day we are all consumers, but only a handful of people are creators or publishers. Does anybody really think the creators and publishers have the power to override everybody else in the world and force us to consume media on their terms instead of our own?