Free V/s Premium : The eternal debate continues…
In Jan, I was in Bangalore participating in Proto’s fifth edition. I was involved in an on-stage discussion on Free v/s Premuim business models. The video for the event has just been released, so sharing it here. This could be useful to lots of folks reading this blog.
What’s the most frequently asked question in Web 2.0? Well its a no brainer. This has to be “what’s your business model“? God knows how many times I have been asked that question; also I must have asked this of others on countless occasions. The video above will certainly not answer that question; but it will give you an insight into the dynamics of the freemium economy and some of its not so well understood innards. For example, the role of cross subsidies and how it distorts the cost-price equation.
One warning though: its a long video and takes a fair bit of time to play through. You’ll have to be a really patient person to watch it entirely. I actually quit it mid-way. Couldn’t stand it any further 
Raj on Mar 9, 2009
Amit…since uve warned..i dare not play it..
btw..how is recession affecting existing web 2 startups and upcoming ones in India?
Amit Ranjan on Mar 9, 2009
Raj,
I think recession is starting to show effects for sure. Ad spends are certainly stretched, and funding is going to be tougher, maybe at much lower valuations…
In any recession, the first ones to be affecte are companies with risk exposure… startups be definition are more exposed due to unproven business models…