Information Metering: Paving the Way for Pay-Per-View Information

摘要

Throughout the approximately 25-year history of electronic information services, pricing has frequently occupied center stage. There has been considerable debate over pricing metrics, the value of information, pricing for different markets, and users' willingness to pay. One neglected area, however, is the packaging of information and payment for it. Information is often not packaged in units most suitable for its users. For example, CD-ROMs with large collections of information are widely available, but if I want to use just a small part I must buy the entire collection, often at a high price. Until recently, there was no way to buy only part of the data on a CD-ROM.