Article stolen from PCMAG.com! 05.13.09 The good old days of tons of something for pretty much nothing are coming to an end, and there's little we can do to stop it. by Lance Ulanoff It's finally happening. The foundation upon which the Web is built—oodles and oodles of free content and services—is about to crumble. It hasn't happened yet, but the signs that it soon will are all there: • A glut of free content from largely undifferentiated sources • Premier providers struggling to maintain a steady flow of new content without the benefit of revenue • A beyond-hard economy beating back every idea, initiative, and dollar that might help float said content on the free Web • An uncooperative public that remains unwilling to pay for virtually anything online A few weeks ago, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on the future of journalism . It described in stark terms the very real crisis that the print media (and its online counterparts) faces in the era ...
