The Internet as a Huge Repository of Free Stuff
General No Comments »More and more these days it’s beginning to feel like the net is all about getting free items. It is already the biggest free source of information, for example, Wikipedia is a fantastic free online encyclopedia: if you were born before the appearance of the world wide web, you must remember how much these things used to cost, I still remember those 20 encyclopedia books filling up an entire shelf…
There are many websites where you could get an auto insurance online quote in seconds, as well as other sites where you could get instant health insurance quotes. There are companies that give you free samples of products. Sites that give you free cookbooks and free eBooks. And how about those sites where you could download free computer games - all legally, and shall I repeat it? All for no charge.
This brings the question: with all these free offerings, how do companies intend to make money? Ah, but that’s where the catch is. Often you get things for free, with a twist: “just fill this form and give us this information”, “try it free for 10 days and afterwards it costs $X”. So many times there are strings attached to the free offer. Personally, I don’t mind. I just enjoy the free items I can get. Sometimes I continue the offer after the free trial has passed, sometimes I don’t.
If anything, this trend seems to be getting stronger. These days you can just about find virtually everything you can think of for free. Certain forums (Craig’s list, unless I’m mistaken) even have sections dedicated to people giving away free items, just because they can’t be bothered with selling them or moving them out of their homes. This is a good trend, because it’s basically a win-win scenario - everyone benefits.
I wonder whether this trend will continues or whether five years from now there’s going to be another bubble that bursts. Personally, I believe this is a sustainable model, and we’ll just see more and more of this - usually with some strings attached.
Tags: free computer games, free cookbooks, free online encyclopedia, free samples of products
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