Giving it all Away - Web2.0 Style

Complementary Wake-Up Call

Ring-ring!!!! Ring-ring!!! Wake-up!!!! Wake-up!!

Going to toss you these concepts in rapid-fire succession.  Save you time and eliminate the need to read in-depth.  Just keep up and stay focused, because I’m about to introduce the next big  development on the web!

Let’s Make A Deal- How does ‘FREE’ sound?

Many of the services we enjoy from Web 2.0 companies are offered “FREE” of charge.

Sound too good to be true?  That’s RIGHT….because….NOTHING’S FREE!!

The cost for free services may be hidden, but ultimately each of us pays for a service in some way,  I know, I know; you like thinking web 2.0 companies do no evil.

WAKE UP kid, you’ve been dreaming.

Bright Side - You’re Not Bald & Naked Trapped in a Slime Filled Pod

You’re ready now though for a taste of reality.  It might not be as sweet as what Web 2.0’s been spoon-feeding you, but it will fortify, energize and focus your attention to keep you from falling asleep again.

If you aren’t wondering how you ended up here - reading this weblog entry - then you aren’t really awake yet.  You’re a somnambulist.  For you, today only then, a SECOND HELPING of REALITY! And for you my friend, for you, it’s free!

Dark Side -You’re a Behavioral, Biometric & Interpersonal Goldmine Being Used

People don’t read a website’s Terms of Use prior to clicking in agreement. Do you? I didn’t think so! And to think it’s largely due to User ignorance and the actions of one company, Google.

Google - Turns out Being Evil is Just More Profitable

Early on, Google’s terms of use were generally fair and Users trusted Google, lulled to sleep with the refrain “Don’t be Evil.” Google rolled out service after service and mined anonymous User data to make web browsing better, to filter spam, and to do whatever other things Google was doing at the time.

The idealism was short lived, however.  Google execs had to compromise the corporate ideal.  WHY? To meet quarterly projections and satisfy investor expectations?  NO!

Google had to EXCEED expectations. That’s how you really grow value afterall.

Google’s exponential price accretion (YES exponential!) accompanied quarterly earnings upside surprises of 19.5%, 40.2%, 12.4%,and 11.0% over first year!

Google exchanged Users’ trust for their upside surprises by implementing policies that tacitly approved splogging and click fraud.  But it was too late, Users trusted Google, and trust was and still is exploited by other web companies that saw how the game was played. 

Google stood the User’s up for other companies to knock down again and again, each time taking something more from each User.  Something uniquely valuable.

General Rule - companies will do anything that’s legal to make a dollar. Will avoid providing obvious next statement.

You - The User - Are The Problem

I recently wrote about a web2.0 service, Earfl.com.  When registering for the Earfl service, each User is in effect required to give Earfl perpetual rights to the SOUND OF HIS VOICE.  Did YOU sign up with EARFL?? How much is the sound of your voice worth?  Who’d be interested in acquiring data like this from EARFL? Zooloo.com wants a perpetual royalty-free license to all the content you post on their site. Before I pointed it out, BuzzStream’s Term of Use could be read to give them a license to your contact information. Facebook wants a royalty-free perpetual license to all your content. And it goes on and on and on.

As long as you’re willing to give up valuable rights, businesses will continue exploit you.

Taken to it’s logical conclusion, User’s here in the United States won’t have anything of value left to exchange for free services! As much of a nightmare as it might be to consider, it could be that we’re seeing U.S. Citizens readily handing over the last things of intrinsic value we have.

Once we’ve given it all away, web companies will shift their efforts to other markets, and Americans will be asked to pay for many of the services that are presently free.

So WAKE UP from ignorant dreams. Better to do so now while it’s still a choice you have. Wake UP!