It had to happen someday, didn’t it? There we were thinking that the internets were a never-ending free stuff Why buy the Guardian when you can read it online? Why buy movies when you can Limewire them? My line of work has meant that I have spent a lot of time dissecting the implications of the Digital Britain report and more broadly, contemplating what needs to be done to create a sustainable internet. Then News Corp said the ‘unthinkable’: content will have to be paid for in future. And since then there has been a snowball effect, with the Washington post working out flexible payment systems, other papers mooting microplayments. Even my favourite messageboard, LFGSS is working out a structure for charging its members.

I wonder whether the industry practice of charging will spread widely enough to encourage changes in how people view consuming content online? Will there be a risk in terms of shutting out those already alienated by the digital divide? I’d welcome your thoughts.

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I’ve not blogged in a while here; I became a little too Twitter fixated. So on my return, I’d like to share with you my experiences in contributing to a pan-European social media conference called SOMESSO.

The intended difference between this and other  social media conferences catering ta similar, corporate audience was that it was about facilitating a new way of thinking about what social technologies are and what their relationship is to the way in which we do business. It was to do away with the notion that the best way of ‘dealing with’ social media was as a security or compliance threat or something to be blocked by the IT department; and instead illustrate using live case studies of organisations using and applying things like enterprise social networks, reserach communities, online ambassador programmes, blogger relations programmes in ways that allow organisations to be better listeners. Ways that prompt corporations to do things in a more flexible and empathetic way. Or as it was helpfully summed up “more about people rather than processes.” I feel that we made an important step forward in terms of sharing ideas that are vital for bringing about that sense of change. It would be good to know what you thought as well.

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