Like network television shows and other search engines http://www.oriolesteamproshop.com/orioles-chris-tillman-jersey/ , Google is free but with certain strings attached. For example, the "free" programs on network television are only free to view if you own a television set or a computer—and then only if you pay your electricity bill. You'll also have to watch commercials (or work to avoid them) if you still want to watch the programs for "free." In the same way, the Internet is not "free" for most people, who pay to subscribe through a service payment gateway for school provider. Although you may not notice the cost because you get so much in return, somebody pays for everything. This reality disproves the fallacy of getting something for nothing.
After that cautionary note http://www.oriolesteamproshop.com/orioles-chris-davis-jersey/ , let's examine some "free stuff” in economic terms. Anthropologists first explored this concept with Marcel Mauss's analysis of the potlatch, a Native American ceremony where a tribe hosts a festival and lavishes gifts on the guests who are then expected to reciprocate later. This practice constitutes a gift economy, with rituals involving exchanges of property and prestige through symbology and relationships. The Native American potlatch custom is one example of an economy based on gift exchange. More contemporary examples include open source software, which is free software developed by groups of dedicated but unpaid volunteers. The creators of open source software give users the source code for their program and the right to use, copy http://www.oriolesteamproshop.com/orioles-cal-ripken-jersey/ , modifies, and improves it. In exchange, the creators expect users' contributions to improve the program, whether those contributions are simply comments and suggestions or actual development and testing.
Traditional scientific research is another example of a gift economy. Scientists publish their research in print journals or online and present their results at conferences. Other scientists cite their work, and the researchers become more prestigious within the scientific community as the number of citations to their work increases. The scientific community benefits from the increased pool of knowledge http://www.oriolesteamproshop.com/orioles-brooks-robinson-jersey/ , and individual scientists benefit from their growing status and the awarding of more grants or funding. One final example of gift economics might be what is known as captive sales techniques. Manufacturers of inkjet printers give the printers away or sell them at ridiculously low prices, knowing they will get a return later by selling ink cartridges.
Search engines, which finance free search results by selling advertising, use what economists call a two-sided market (sometimes called a double-sided market). All media—including television, radio http://www.oriolesteamproshop.com/orioles-adam-jones-jersey/ , magazines, and newspapers—would be far more expensive if it weren't for advertising revenues. Other business sectors apply similar techniques: Your credit card appears to be free (or almost free) when you use it for purchases, but the merchant accepting the card pays a fee by payment gateway for college to the company that issued it and you, of course, pay interest if you carry a balance.