You can get a free copy but you need to register
Thanks to the explosive growth of the internet, businesses have been adopting the concept of technology as an enabler to enable their business and attain growth.
We as a consumer find that a lot of information is out there on the internet for free whereas we may have to pay for accessing the same information if we were to pursue the information from the same source in an alternative format like a paper copy.
The challenge here may be in defining the boundaries of ’free’ in order to understand what free means to us in our everyday life. Is the product or service absolutely free or is there some fine-print that I have to revisit again and perhaps seek help from an attorney to magnify the fine-print?
I find that there is a fine-print and the fine-print maybe in the form of requesting the reader or subscriber to register. The magnitude of the fine-print can be found while inspecting the amount of information required to register. Some registrations are lightweight and need only a name and email address to register. On the other hand, there are some registration processes that can be categorized as heavyweight as they ask for more personal information in the form of street address or credit card information even when the likelihood that a snail mail is delivered to the address or the credit card being charged is minimal.
My understanding is that businesses need the information of the subscribers to manage the information about the subscribers. To manage the subscriber information, the business needs to measure how many subscribers are reading the content on a regular basis. To measure the number of subscribers, the business needs to keep track of the subscriber. To keep track of the subscriber, the business needs the subscriber to register.
I personally am fine with the concept of registering but I do find an element of risk if the business is seeking a lot of personal information in order to gain access to the free content. The downside to the argument is that the subscriber may not get access to the free content if they do not register.
I think a balance is required and thinking about a win-win model where both the business and the subscriber can win.
To implement a successfull win-win model, businesses may want to implement the lightweight model and request the minimal information from the subscriber in exchange for the free content.
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