Free is the new paid

It appears Chris Anderson, of Long Tail Fame, was right. If you haven't read his "Free! Why $0.00 is the Future of Business" then you must stop reading this and read that. All those economists with their pipes and spectacles shouldn't have been watching Jim Cramer on CNBC and his wonderful insight, instead they should have been reading Wired Magazine and Chris Anderson. Essentially Anderson argues that Free is where the money/customers/fun is at. Web 2.0, or 2.1 or whatever we're in, coupled with these "tough economic times" has moved "free" to the forefront faster than you could say "Circuit City is Bankrupt."

Just take a look at the food industry in the past couple of weeks to see how they're embracing Free:

1. Yesterday Quizno's came out with their 1 million free subs - they're at 214,000 now
2. Today I noticed Arby's is giving away free "Roast Burgers" - hope it tastes good with Arby Sauce
3. Starbucks, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Dr. Pepper have all given away free food since Fall
   

Food is one of those categories where people love to try new things, especially if they're free. This proclivity to sample, paired with humans being creatures of habit when it comes to restaurants and food makes Free the perfect model for increasing that foot traffic. What's next is the big question. Will Kroger give away milk to sell their cereal? Will those fine restaurants, which are probably hurt most by the economy, give away the entree if you buy their alcohol? While I'm not sure of the anwer to those questions, I am sure of a place I'll be having lunch this week - a little place I like to call Arby's.