Potential Topic: Freemium Open Access

[1] Intro: One of the fundamental rationales underlying the need for open access of zero-marginal cost goods is that it's in the interest of justice

[2] Question: But does justice demand that the experience of accessing the information be equal? Does open access = equal access?

[3a] Illustrative Examples:

• Reading Shakespeare for free as a text file online, v. buying a leather bound edition for $30
• Boston.com (Trashy) v. Typographer's-dream (Bostonglobe.com): SAME content, vastly different experiences.
• MIT OCW v. attending MIT
• Downloading the source code and self-installing v. Paying a consultant to install and configure

[3b] NOT freemium:

• NYT paywall, 30-day software trials, etc.
• Difference here is that the "premium" versions of these services offer content and/or access that is not available to non-paying users. In my contemplated system, the access to the fundamental content should be the same.

[4] Proposal: Perhaps a good way to make core information available to everyone, yet preserve free-market esque revenue streams that can

1. fund the costs and incentivize the efforts of further development,
2. incentivize people/users towards upward mobility
3. add more thoughts here,

is to encourage a tiered system that requires people to give away the core information for free, but allows them to charge for the bells & whistles

[5] Problems

• Is this a sustainable model for key industries - music, movies, where 90% of the value is just the file itself? (Former Rep. Bob Ingles said in a talk I went to last week - "Sustainability means profit")
  • Is it possible to maintain systems where the "premium" version doesn't = premium access to content? At which point do services become or = content?
  • How would this work for software, particularly expensive software like Adobe?
• Does this address the justice problem? Just because people have access to information doesn't mean that it's in a form that facilitates them to use it.
• What is the ideal equilibrium-society that I am trying to promote? (think about this)

-- By CrystalMao - 14 Oct 2011

In assessing my examples, perhaps I need to distinguish between a "premium" version that has been transformed into a MC / 0 product (e.g., an MIT education, a physical book) , vs. premium versions that are still MC = 0 (Bostonglobe.com with improved layout and no ads). Does this distinction matter? Is it unethical to restrict access for premium versions that are MC=0, even if the underlying content is available for free?

--By CrystalMao - 18 Oct 2011

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