An oft-heard saying in Silicon Valley is that “information wants to be free.” Google is running a test to see if users feel the same way.
On Thursday, Google started experimenting with a new way to let users contribute to web sites in exchange for removing – or at least reducing – the number of ads. The service, called Contributor by Google, has users give between $1 and $3 a month to sites like The Onion and Mashable.
Once they pay, the ads that normally show will be replaced with a banner that says “Thank you for being a contributor.” Think of it as an ad-blocker that doesn’t stiff the publisher.
The experiment is tiny, and follows other similar pay experiments like Google Consumer Surveys, a way for publishers to finance content through surveys instead of ads, or Fan Funding, a way for YouTube fans to pay their favorite video makers (this is often described as “a tip jar”).
For Contributor, Google is only working with 10 sites, and it will take a small cut of the contributions. The sites may not be completely ad free: Google only has the power to remove ads it has served, so it should probably be described as a way to see “fewer ads” rather than no ads.
While people still expect most websites to be free, they seem to be increasingly comfortable with paying for online content. HBO recently said it would start a new streaming service aimed at so-called “cord cutters” who don’t want to buy cable service. Coming from another direction is Vimeo, an online video service that has started charging for content and is investing in premium shows like “High Maintenance.”
Will this condition people to pay for websites like the Onion? We shall see.