The Problem with Free
Today, we can search for almost anything online and be presented with an abundance of free articles on the topic. Over the recent years, we have been conditioned to seek this free information. Even though it may seem like a good thing, there is a consequence. Most of us expect and consume this free information without considering how it impacts bloggers, journalists, photographers, and other content creators. With the overabundance of free content available online, it has become more difficult for content creators to receive fair profit for their work.
For example, free recipes can significantly lessen profits for cookbook authors and magazine publishers. Recipe developers work just as hard as creators of tangible products, and we should provide them both with good financial compensation. Often, recipes are used to sell tangible products (such as cookware) via Amazon and other e-commerce websites. Most people do not need the products that are being pushed by recipe bloggers. Our economy’s current focus on tangible products is unsustainable for our planet. It accelerates the filling of landfills and emission of greenhouse gases into our air.
Instead of trying to sell products, many creators try to sell advertisements. They place advertisements on their websites with hopes they will profit from a visitor’s ad click or purchase of the product being advertised. However, relaying on advertising revenue is not sustainable, with returns from digital display advertising continuing to disappoint, more publishers are trying to sell individual digital subscriptions and membership schemes or persuade consumers to donate money. Also, “aggregators and social media have been gaining traction as providers of news and attracting the majority of the advertising revenue along the way.” (University of Oxford, 2017, p. 4)
The average person ignores most of the advertisements on a webpage. Advertising professionals “are aware that our attention is ever more divided, and we are more distracted, so in the current reality, it’s not feasible to expect ad rates to increase enough” (Goodwin, 2019) to provide sustainable revenue for content creators.
Considering the insufficient profit received from free content, sharing a large amount of it is unnecessary. Like most things in life, quality over quantity applies to content as well. Over the course of a few years, it would be better to create 25 high-quality podcast episodes than 250 low or average-quality podcast episodes.
As an alternative to the current product-based economy, we should shift towards an information-based economy that emphasizes content quality-over-quantity. This would encompass print magazines, online articles, books (print and ebooks), and courses (in-person and online). There would be varying price tiers to align with anyone’s budget. From $1 to download and read an article, to hundreds of dollars for a master-level online course.
For recipes published online, we should transition to a pay-per-recipe system. Each recipe would have a preview with a couple photos, a short description, a few of the ingredients, and dietary labels (e.g. gluten-free) From there, the viewer could pay $1 (or a similar price) for the full ingredient list and cooking directions. Then there would be an option for the viewer to download the recipe for future use. The pay-per-recipe strategy would be more profitable for the creator and fair for the customer.
To facilitate this transition towards an information-based economy, there needs to be a “better quality of content, a strong brand, and above all else, a smooth sign-up process.” (Goodwin, 2019)
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