And here we are, at the final reflection. It was really interesting to read the different viewpoints of my peers and also many of them introduced new platforms what I wasn’t aware of previously – Open Access and Coursera. (When free information was mentioned, the first web I remembered was Wikipedia) Both Open Access and Coursera provides free information to users, making it convenient for users to retrieve information they need.
Honestly, I was quite hestitant over the idea of free information at first. After all, there’s no free lunch in the world. How reliable can the information be? But having read my peers’ viewpoint, my stand started shifting. I also went exploring the platforms introduced by them.
And I think: Maybe there are people who are very willing to share their information.
As mentioned by Xiu Zhen, the most disavantageous for content producer is the cost > earning. However, on the other hand, they do save on publishing cost. (Which will cost a bomb) However, like I’ve mentioned, many may earn through advertisements. Personally, I feel that this is rather cliche and it really depends on how the content producer get their information. Of course, if alot of money is spent on research, I believe content producers would prefer to be paid for the information they’ve provided.
The advantages and disadvantages which Ruhuan mentioned is rather similar to my viewpoint as well. However, she has commented on my viewpoint which started me pondering. I have always had the mindset of free = low quality, while paid = high quality. I wouldn’t say that this is 100% untrue, but I strongly believe it is almost true. But Ruhuan has made me realise that even if one has to pay for the information, it might not be useful as well. And this will anger the buyer more as compared to them retriving it for free.
This is a rather debatable topic and I would say it really depends on situation and how one looks at it. There is no absoulte right or wrong in providing free information freely on the web.
Read my comments on others viewpoint:
Xiu Zhen: https://cheexiuzhen.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/nothings-for-free-not-true-oa-is-for-free/
Ru Huan: http://ruhuanng.wordpress.com/2014/12/09/benefits-and-drawbacks-of-free-form-content/
Yanyi . 