Broadly, there are two different types of business models for online content such as movies and apps.
Netflix uses a subscription-based model, where you have to pay in order to access their content. You won’t see any advertisements on Netflix.
Facebook, on the other end of the spectrum, has very successfully employed the ad-based model. You don’t have to pay to use the service, but you’ll be served many advertisements.
While it is certainly convenient to be able to use free services via the ad-based model, are there any significant drawbacks? This is the focus of my most recent blog post : Digital Content: To pay or not to pay.
Spoiler alert: Sometimes, you get what you pay for.