Bruce Sterling has an interesting article in Wired, on recent Web 2.0 business models, that can be read as an update to Adam Arviddson’s earlier post on zero-advertising brands.

The relevant citation:

“How can any business grow without an ad campaign? The key is what publisher Tim O’Reilly calls an architecture of participation. Web 2.0 outfits like Skype, Wikipedia, Flickr, and del.icio.us don’t need to promote themselves because, unlike their Web 1.0 counterparts, they connect people directly to engage in meaningful activities. In doing so, they’re disrupting markets – and challenging the Web’s ethos of transparency.

Rather than bragging about how insanely great its VoIP products are, Skype makes its users insanely productive by letting them talk with any other user worldwide for free. The company makes money by charging users for connecting to phone systems outside of its network. It’s a freemium model: Attract users with free services, then charge them a premium for special features.”