> but Google presents an interesting challenge here because the free services die without even trying or offering a paid version. I wonder what would happen if, instead of just axing services, google started charging.

If a free Google service had either the volume of users or the instensity of use that would make it seem viable as a paid service, it probably would either become a paid service or, if Google had a strategic reason to keep it free, continue as a free service.

A free service that gets axed is almost certainly one that it doesn't appear likely enough to Google that it would be worthwhile as a paid service to justify expending the staff time required to design a pricing structure and integrate billing.

The news still goes crazy over it. When Google started charging for heavy use of the Maps API, people claimed Google was performing Microsoft-esque anti-competitive tactics.

The difference there is that Google Maps was used on a majority of all products that featured maps (outside in-house things from Microsoft, or special partnerships). Google Alerts, Reader, Finance, et al are products they have been closing/breaking/disregarding for lack of interest, which is a completely opposite problem from the Maps example.

The difference there was really that the iPhone used Maps and that that needed to be monetized.

the iphone maps app was from google (until the contract expired, and apple created their own)... how could charging themselves for api use be a monetization strategy?

Well then people would just complain about "luring them in" with a free service and then charging them for it (5 years later).

mtgx, despite having 21724 karma, it seems you've been made [dead]..

> Google presents an interesting challenge here because the free services die without even trying or offering a paid version

And would-be concurrence dies a quick death as they can't compete with a price of 0 and can't compete with a search index and processing power of essentially infinity.

You do pay for it with data on your behaviour, when watching and perhaps clicking the ads ,etc. Nothing's free. Starting to charge for something out of the blue generates a lot of negative feedback. There was a good case for this with Red Cross and doughnuts on HN recently.