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It’s a miracle that the free internet lasted as long as it did.
The popular online news platform, anarmof the still popular cable news web link, isputting up a paywall.
It’s unclear if that will be a few a day or a dozen per month.
That’s not a lot, and for all-you-can-eat access, some might consider it a bargain.
CNN.com is not alone in this.
Gen Z trusts those sources and will usually turn there first.
And, to be honest, we don’t usually willingly enter Paywall land.
The truth is, I already pay for a lot of content.
I have subscriptions to The New York Times and The New Yorker.
Also, wasn’t the Internet supposed to be free?
Modeling subscriptions
Maybe not.
The World Wide Web was launched for free almost by accident.
When the Internet arrived, it had no interface.
(Yes, a massive oversimplification of what really happened.)
We did understand the web offered content consumption and audience measurability in ways virtually impossible with traditional media.
That was a bonanza for traditional advertisers who desperately wanted access to all those eyeballs.
And they got them in droves.
However, the efficacy of these ads started sliding almost as soon as they started appearing.
Visiting some sites was like playing a game of whack-a-mole.
Naturally, if you visited an adult site, you probably got what you deserved.
Free was a dream we all had and it was a wonderful one while it lasted.
