Yahoo Ad Woes Foreshadow "For Fee" Internet
"In the early days of the World Wide Web, a mass audience didn’t want to pay for online services, browsers, and other fun tech toys because they didn't in fact do all that much for all that many people. They were seen as a toy - as a niche, geek, kid's thing. It was also the case that many of us got into the Internet for free at first. The net's main users and proponents were university librarians, engineers and programmers, graduate students, and professors. These people all felt a sense of entitlement to free email, free dialup service, etc. By now, the reality is far different. And now that the IPO-fueled subsidy of tech companies has given way to harsher business realities, consumers are for the first time going to be given the "choice": pay, or don't pay. Over time, more and more will make the decision to pay... or get left behind."