Subject: Re: Scarce Resources (Was Yahoo...) From: dwhite@april.iii.net (Donovan White) Date: Thu, 4 May 1995 20:33:40 -0400

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PHILIP E DAOUST  said:

>I seriously question that Internet users, who have come to expect open and
>relatively free access to information, would be willing to pay in the 
>future for what they get free now. 

The points are that 1. they aren't getting it free now, it hasn't been
created yet, and 2. it's not last year's Internet users who will be next
year's online market.
>
> ... how many Internet users will tolerate
>advertising online? It is my belief that online folks cruising the infor-
>mation superhighway will take detours as soon as the billboards starting
>going up. 

Once the ad content is integrated with the editorial content the experience
won't be much different than print or broadcast. The Internet isn't the only
model for online information, and the other models have shown that
advertising content is something that users will tolerate at very high
levels of aggravation. Wrap the right content around the worst, most
aggravating ad in the world, and users will tolerate it.

>Third, there is still a large majority of news consumers who
>don't even own a computer, let alone understand the WWW and URL's. 

Right, which means that the trick will be in creating an adequate browser
that will run on the information appliance that that majority will acquire
in the next 18 months.

>
>News organizations planning on online subscriptions as cash cows
>have a big surprise coming, in my opinion. 

I don't think they expect online subscriptions to be the cash cow. I think
they all have their eyes on advertising, just as in all the other media.

dw

        Donovan White

        Online Information Development and Design

        dwhite@iii.net           DonovanWhite@ichange.com

        (508) 597-5321           (508) 597-3285


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