It's time for the Web to jump from free to fee
"I don't want this new medium to diminish until it is a repository only for junk information or that provided by giant media companies willing to operate at a loss, the logical outcome of people insisting it remain a free culture, blind to the high cost of good writing and reporting. I want -- let's face it -- to be able to be paid for what I do 10 years from now."

I chose this quote to underline one possible problem facing the current attempts to charge web users. Most of the rethoric I read is more about cost structures and having to face the harsh reality of the "new new economy" (aka the old economy), than about benefits brought to customers.

As web workers and active members of the online world, we might reach for our wallets and subscribe to sites providing content, services and applications. But we'll be mostly purchasing from ourselves, in a zero-sum game among online addicts. If we want to charge users for our work, we need to cross the chasm and provide stuff that laymen will feel compelling enough to shell out some hard cold cash for. Many people still live very well without the Internet. If we think they're missing something, the onus is on us to prove them so.

The Take Back the Net campaign faced criticism because it was based on our problems, not the solutions we can bring to consumers. Many site owners now advertise with a dangerous message, along the lines of: "subscribe to our service or we'll kill this dog". If we fail to reach out and deliver value to mass markets, we may realize - but it might be too late - that nobody cares. Let's not forget we are the dog.

07/09/01 update: Kuro5hin is into cats, not dogs.