Monetizing Open Technology and Content


 * provide support
 * advertising is difficult (though WikiHow does it!)
 * premium content
 * improved content (more links, references, etc)?
 * micropayments
 * "species diversity" is important! The value of a product is how difficult it is to replace it
 * you can make a living, but probably won't become a millionaire :(
 * for content: can we have an "information barter economy"?
 * patron system

Making money from open-source software
Lots of ways to do it - diversification is key
 * getting paid to fix bugs and add features (= awesome)
 * customization
 * setup
 * support
 * hosting
 * enterprise integration
 * training
 * closed-source, for-sale plugins
 * dual license
 * "certified version" (bug fixes guaranteed)
 * re-packaging as software for profit (defends on license - not GPL)
 * selling documentation and training materials
 * selling merchandise
 * hosted add-on services (like WordPress Akismet)

Other thoughts about open-source software

 * mentoring new developers is important
 * salaries can be lower, because quality of life is higher
 * even proprietary software probably won't make you super-rich! :((

Making money from open-source content

 * advertising - targeted advertising (based on content) is great!
 * freemium
 * examples: eliminate advertising, make reading easier, make printing easier, additional content, "pay for last chapter", higher quality (for audio/video)
 * donations/fundraising drives
 * services exist to ensure that author's claims of income are accurate
 * charge the authors
 * merchandise - includes hard-copy versions of content
 * sponsorship of content
 * access to author(s), work-in-progress
 * for fiction - inclusion w/ in content (naming of characters, product placement)
 * personalized prints
 * student tuitions/grants (universities are big generators of open content)

Other thoughts about open-source content

 * volunteer contributors can get subscriber status (no ads)

How to convince people/companies to make their content open (published via Creative Commons and the like)?

 * Quorum's founders were thinking they would make it open content but didn't... why? Because initially they had no terms of use, and no one cared
 * Yeah, a legal friend of mine was saying that people don't understand the copyright situation
 * Instructable (?)
 * Radiohead's "pay as much as you like" album, "In Rainbows"
 * but.. particular situation
 * a way of "sticking it to the man"
 * they already had "fans"
 * see also: Sita sings the blues

Attendees
Add your name to this list:
 * Ben Kovitz
 * Dave Crosby