Face it, sooner or later the free lunch has to end. Now it could describe their self-immolation. The Web is going through its own Great Depression as big sites continue to go belly-up. These ominous signs do not foretell the death of the Web. But sooner or later the free lunch has to end.
Information wants to be free, but information providers want to be paid.
Ads won't pull the train. Commission sites, such as eBay, seem to be doing okay. But sales, subscriptions, and commissions don't apply to countless Web sites that offer information and entertainment. Since individual credit card charges of a penny are not practical, one approach would have you establish a virtual cash balance with a clearinghouse that would collect and distribute the pennies. Micropayments were part of the original theoretical model of the Web.