I have always been a fan of free and providing value . Done right this doesn’t mean you can’t make money (maybe you can even make more). I really like the idea of transforming a paid subscription (web 1.0) into a paid social network (very web 2.0). I like what Joel and his team have done with the Inman News site. Joel talks about the obviously well thought out strategy and execution here. Congrats guys!
Joel, nice tips on reputation tracking btw. We have some free value of our own coming soon at Vendasta. 