"Whether the Internet is free" is controversial, the internet kingly has not changed

Buy a newspaper for money, watch the news on the Internet not money, anti-virus software to money, China anti-virus software do not have money, phone messages to money, instant messaging do not pay ... More than 10 years after China's internet outbreak, free seems to be the biggest theme. There must be a lot of users have the question: These software do not pay the enterprise how to live ah? Otherwise, how can there be drip, fast billions of yuan subsidy war?

But these two days for "Internet free" criticism voice a little more, such as Jingdong CEO Liu said "bat profits than real estate enterprises are still high", Sina CEO Cao Chao also said that free is not the internet nature, to solve information symmetry is. This may have been taken out of context, but Liu Chao's words have undoubtedly made the "Internet free" the focus of the current controversy.

The essence of business is making money, and a company, even an internet company, is a gimmick. But for many years, in addition to value-added services members pay, most people and I have been using the free QQ, micro-letter or 360 anti-virus software, did not contribute a dime. But Tencent, 360 and indeed continue to get the real estate companies are envious of the profits.

A little research, it is easy to understand the secret, QQ or 360 antivirus although free, but access to a large number of users, these enterprises can be to third-party enterprises or merchants to charge advertising fees, Baidu, Taobao is so, deep in the mud of the video site is also so.

Back to the beginning of the article, Liu and Chao said nothing wrong, they commented on the internet from the emotional and technical dimensions, which may have made it possible for everyone to understand that internet companies are already strong enough not to treat them as weak (usually free by sensational hype as weak forces), while the latter is purely a technology-driven approach to the Internet.

But on the business model, in particular, most consumer-oriented businesses (business, Consumer-to-consumer) and so on, free is still the king: a Chinese Internet and netizens have such a habit of use, free of charge is to obtain users to reduce product access to the threshold of the largest weight; two ads, commissions, etc. "wool out on the rabbit" Business logic is feasible, and bat dominates the market as exemplified.

Moreover, from an entrepreneur's point of view, it is free to allow entrepreneurs to be comfortable with the technology and experience to optimize their products without having to spend too much time on business models. In other words, it is an unwise idea to do a user-paid project in China's Internet startup, and no one is going to do it.

The author cannot speculate on the true psychology of Liu and Chao, but in terms of the business practice led by both, they are also practicing the internet model of free (at least low profit). But then again, the same is free, can become a platform for enterprises can be faster from other channels to make money, and product single always face the user "overnight loss" risk. A single product is more likely to suffer from free and loss-making performance pressures, which may be the pressure on Sina and Beijing east.