This post reminds me a lot about the different models in the Video Game industry; One-time purchase, Periodic subscription payments, and Free-to-play. I think the “Free-to-play” model would work in a sense for your idea of combining the best of both worlds. Say for instance, as you did, that Google worked on a not-for-profit platform. And let’s say that to keep down on any monopolization, they released all of their data to the public. Just as the “Free-to-play” games offer cosmetic items and such for monetary purchases, perhaps this not-for-profit Google could offer analysis on the data for a cost. Since the analysis could be shared to as many companies as request it, it could be done much more cost-effectively than each company hiring their own analyst, and as such, could be offered at a price which could draw companies in.
This post reminds me a lot about the different models in the Video Game industry; One-time purchase, Periodic subscription payments, and Free-to-play. I think the “Free-to-play” model would work in a sense for your idea of combining the best of both worlds. Say for instance, as you did, that Google worked on a not-for-profit platform. And let’s say that to keep down on any monopolization, they released all of their data to the public. Just as the “Free-to-play” games offer cosmetic items and such for monetary purchases, perhaps this not-for-profit Google could offer analysis on the data for a cost. Since the analysis could be shared to as many companies as request it, it could be done much more cost-effectively than each company hiring their own analyst, and as such, could be offered at a price which could draw companies in.