Paying for Content...Please!

I have become quite the Internet surfer as of late.  Sometimes I spend hours scouring the Web looking, finding, exploring and learning.  Anytime I come across a site though, asking for any credit card information, I "X" the window quickly and never return.

 

Jaron Lanier's, Pay Me for My Content, speaks of the possibility of charging for the Internet content we put out.  Lanier suggests that advertising can only go so far and furthers his argument by preaching his beliefs that, "Information could be universally accessible but on an affordable instead of absolutely free basis".  

There's something different about getting my monthly subscription from Vogue and my weekend edition of The New York Times in the mail; although I pay quite the hefty sum, I feel like I have proof of the money I spent.  I have a tangible, real, and concrete piece of material in my hands and you don't get that from surfing the web.  

Although I reap the benefits of the Internet and all of it's marvels, I would not pay for content. I believe that the future of the Internet is a free one.  The most attractive quality that the Web offers is the fact that mass amounts of information are quickly and easily available... for free! 

The Internet makes getting connected quick, simple, and easy- it makes the world a smaller place.