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If the information is valuable, why aren't we paying for it? That's the problem we still haven't solved. It's why you are Google's product, and it's why compani

by hnick 5y ago

If the information is valuable, why aren't we paying for it? That's the problem we still haven't solved. It's why you are Google's product, and it's why companies use that "sticky" behaviour. You need to be a user, a member, a customer - that way you might eventually give them a few dollars instead of glean a little information and forget they ever existed. I really don't know what a good customer-centric endgame looks like. Maybe a self hosted AI assistant that knows what I need, coupled with a micropayment infrastructure to apportion funds based on where I visit? No idea.

concordDance 5y ago
> If the information is valuable, why aren't we paying for it? Several reasons: 1. You often can't judge the value of the information before purchase. 2. The downside of having to decide whether or not to purchase is often larger than the value of the information. 3. Microtransaction costs (time and otherwise) are higher than the value of the information. 4. That information is often available for free somewhere else (sometimes people just want attention or to inform others rather than money). The top results are just the ones that spent the most money on SEO (and hence have the most intrusive ads).