Actualy, mb:InformationWantsToBeFree, but we want information to be paid for. I am trying to express and solidify my thoughts on the pay model and advertising model for internet initiatives. I have strong beliefs on many aspects of internet business models. ( See HandHeld proposal for dealing with advertising on handheld platforms and BusinessModel ) First, let the advertising suit the media AND the audience. This means that ads on sites associated with television stations or other broadcast media should probably be of a more graphic nature. This seems obvious, but less obvious is the coralary - that sites associated with less graphic media should have less graphic ads. Why not make all of the ads very graphic, if the internet supports it? Because the audience is driven largely by the parent media. Folks who read newspapers want newspapers. Peeps who watch cable, want video. ... Based upon polls and feedback on http://www.kuro5hin.org people actually read and appreciate text advertising. Of course, Kuro5hin's audience is not your typical news audience. They are mostly geeks - but certainly not just computer geeks, there is a large constituency of poli-sci, chem and art geeks -- it is not a code site. They have a lot of interesting ideas, to which I have added some twists of my own. I would propose that ads include a community feedback mechanism. Sort of like a cusotm forum associated with each ad. I'm sure the discussions would provide great insight and value both to the consumer and the advertisers. Naturally, that brings up the issues surrounding editorial control of many forums. I don't know how long we can hold on to that. ... Also, ads should be searchable. The present paradigm seems to be that companies must subject their audience to ads. I gotta believe there are people who want to buy something online, but can't find the company to do business with. This is one of advertising's primary functions. But our approach hides ads a user may wish to see in favor of ads we wish to deliver which has the unfortunate effect of diminishing online advertising's efectiveness. ... Many new advertising techniques are invasive - pop up ads, pop under ads, dhtml interstitials. These campaigns may be seem more effective from the click-thru perspective, but I believe that the increase in click-thru's is due to user confusion and frustration when attempting to get rid of the ads. Its true that they grab your attention - more so than print or video advertising - they also result in ill will. ... Meta data - we need advertising meta data for the individual ads. Without it, we are doomed to random or superficially targeted advertising. Ultimately, the better we are at introducing willing buyers to sellers, the more value our services will have. ... Benefits for subscribers: * fewer intrusive ads * availability of large versions of photos? Non subscribers get thumbnails only, or ads watermarked with ads. Thatway bandwidth is consumed by paying customers. * premium content ( from where ) * premium services ( adrover, pzn, zoning watcher, heads up tomorrows content, early access to classifieds, subscription to print or vise versa, one free online only classified ad, message boards, members-only polls )