A Revenue Model For A Web Service Economy

Sunday, January 08, 2006

I prefer to consider history as a guide.
The best solution would be a layered model similar to the blender on my kitchen counter. You pay a one time fee for posession of a blender, but you must also pay a monthly service charge for the electricity it uses and any fees associated with the items being "blended".

Here is how I would break it down:
(Using the layer model from Phil Wainewright)
  • APIs: A fee based on usage
  • Aggregation services: A fee based on usage
  • Application services: A one time ownership fee
  • Serviced clients: A one time ownership fee unless included with the application service
Esentially this duplicates what we have now. The real problem is actually getting people to understand why they should pay.

Web n.0!

I have read numerous writers and bloggers claiming the coming of Web 2.0, and even Web 3.0. I don't remember anyone, actually involved in building the "World Wide Web", declaring a version one.
The Internet is about services being served by servers. Whether acting as a remote datastore (html, images, xml, etc.) or providing access to interactive processes via server scripts and cgi, it has always been this way. Maybe I'm just to old to really "get it".