The distinction between paid content and free content has ALWAYS been bogus

Producing content has always cost something. Whether it was paid in cash or whether the costs to produce content were covered in some other way (that does not involve money) is not the issue. The issue is that today when publishers publish a publication it becomes globally publicized — at that point it is simply a public good. Indeed: this is actually the intention of advertising: to raise awareness and attract attention. Whether I say paid content will come to an end or whether I say free content will come to an end is less important than to realize that the distinction between paid media and free media is superfluous — and this is something I have said for many years already. I merely wish to point it out again, because there are apparently still many people who still don’t seem to understand that.

P.T. Barnum may have been right at one point in time, many years ago, when he said that there was a sucker born every minute… but that does not mean that everyone born must be a sucker — and to pop a bubble,… well, all it takes is one single prick.

These days, it seems like there are more than enough pricks out there… — indeed: there are probably so many pricks, that they are totally willing and able to take care of each and every one of the suckers. Disintermediation is going to happen: expect it!