Google Wave is a forthcoming service that appears to be quite revolutionary in communication methodology.  It is a combination of email, message boards, and instant messaging mashed together in an intuitive fashion that heightens the efficiency and, ultimately, the productivity of communication.  Watching the video and checking out the post found here at bizzia.com gives you introduction to wave.  It may become a replacement for email, especially internally and beyond as its popularity grows and competitors adopt similar concepts.  I love seeing advancement in technology, more so when it will affect entrepreneurs and you can bet new ventures will pop up utilizing such new services and offering extensions thereof, just as you’ve seen with simple services like twitter.  Cool stuff! Check the vid out below. It’s kind of long but the first 20 min. or so give you the simple idea.

Free is the word of the year with books about it and more.  I recently wrote a piece on the business model known as “freemium” here.  Entire companies thrive on free such as Google, the reference standard.  I happen to be a fan of the free movement and the open-source concept.  I am not religious about it however.  I like it when it works.

I have no ethical or moral obligation to the free movement, only am fascinated by the development of economic forces and innovative business models.  I am, in fact, amused by the zeal of some “camp” members (the two camps being “free” and “anti-free”). So to this end, I write about the not-so-good side of Free.  The intent is to bring a balance to the concept, giving any aspiring entrepreneur or business owner the option to choose what will work best for them in their own circumstance.

This thought was sparked by a great article recently put out by Fast Company, here.  I will pull some concept from the article to further illustrate the point.

The world of web 2.0 and tech startups have revealed the business model of the future, or maybe the now?  I mean, they’ve been around for a while now but more and more are hitching a ride on the “free” train as we move forward into the future.  This is particularly true of web-based products and services.  Terms such as “Freemium” are being coined that describe the idea of free services with paid upgrades.  Other companies, such as google, facebook, twitter, etc. are nearly 100% free and setting a standard of freedom (wow, you can really ‘pun’ it up with this whole free thing).  Seth Godin has several posts regarding this model such as here.  Others, like Wired’s Chris Anderson have even written books on this concept here.  Chris shared his thoughts on this concept in several interviews and articles as well, as has Godin, that take the idea of offering abundance for free and scarcity for fee.  You can essentially get the entire monthly magazine of Wired online for free, or you can pay and get the well postured, premium, hard copy magazine for a fee.  I’m a subscriber, even though it is free online.  I just like the feel of the mag.  Entrepreneur.com recently had an article on this concept as well here.  An exerpt:

On the Web, services such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter are the undisputed kings of free, providing robust services at no charge to users. But a host of other companies use free in a much more traditional way–as an enticement for paid upgrades. The model is known as freemium, and while it may not make headlines, proponents say it can make millions.

Unfortunately, finding the right balance between free and paid in the freemium model can leave a new business in uncharted waters, with few hard and fast rules to follow.

There are many companies paving the way and defining their version of the rules quite successfully.  Among those in the article are 37Signals, Beanstock, and Posterous.  These are all web companies.

So, how can a company that is not specifically a web-company take advantage of “Free” or create its own freemium business model?  In today’s world, nearly all companies are “web” companies in one form or another.  It may be for marketing only, and that is fine.  This window to the web is what makes freemium possible, even for non-web-centric companies.  The reason the web is the key is due to low cost, no overhead, distribution opportunities.  It costs too much to do freemium outside of the web (in most cases).  When software can be developed once and distributed to limitless end users at nearly zero cost, it makes sense to look to the web.  For these non-web-centric companies, it may look like offering online courses, guides, e-books, and management tools for a do-it-yourself version of your particular product or service, the up-sell being to actually buy the product or service which is much easier and better that stumbling through on your own.  Other companies may create online webinars, seminars, and other informational free products that actually provide value while sharing the possibilities of the premium services and products.

Another key to free is finding alternative ways of revenue generation while offering your primary service free.  This has been Google’s model from the beginning.  Everything they offer is free with the opportunity to sell advertising, data-mine their substantial user base, and more.  Looking for creative alternatives to revenue is powerful and ought to be explored regardless of one’s chosen business model.  Just be careful to not overdue the ads, the easiest and most common form of alternative revenue.  Get creative instead.

It is exciting to see the new world of free develop as technology enhances the ability to distribute product and services so easily.  It makes everyone’s life better as us end users can get tons of great, free stuff while taking advantage of some premium offerings and companies are getting the distribution and viral growth they need to succeed, a great win-win.

Any input on freemium models, possibilities, or ideas?