If you operate in the information or knowledge economy, have only a plain vanilla offering, and don’t really engage with your clients, now may be a good time to change careers. The world has changed (and for the better).

The ivory towers of professional bodies are slowly crumbling as free information is flooding the web, empowering web users en masse and putting downward pressure on the cost of advisory fees. Is this the end of making money from knowledge-sharing? Definitely not, and thousands of websites are reaping handsome profits in the new information era, but the revenue model has changed. Income is mostly in the form of advertising or survey hosting fees, while some money can still be made from the information itself – in the form of a 2nd tier, more advanced offering with paid membership.

Specific role players will benefit more from the changed economy than others:

The pioneers:

Surfing habits form quickly and are hard to break. Therefore businesses that woo web users first with a real value-add service, often have a distinct advantage to other businesses that enter later.

The impartial:

Wisely, users generally rate impartial advice from an independent business higher than the information feed from a business which could have a vested interest in the advice given. While experts are still respected, they now have to make space for the ‘wisdom of crowds’ as well, as reflected in websites like hellopeter.com.

However, companies are highly aware of the premium users place on peer reviews and several have disappointingly faked positive feedback on social networks. There will be an increasing demand for the services of independent integrity analysts, who will focus on anything from spotting online comments by companies masquerading as happy customers to investigating any kickbacks for positive reviews by forums and other social media networks.

The filters:

With the sheer volume of information around, users will increasingly find value in websites that firstly rate the quality of content and then feed through only the information that is relevant to them.

The specialists:

Experts in a specialised field (for which there is a market) have always been in a better position than generalists to make money from their knowledge. With plain vanilla information being freely available, specialisation may now become a necessity, rather than a choice.

The engagers:

More and more users expect a two-way conversation with an information provider instead of a one-way information feed. They want to be able to ask questions and comment on articles. The language in which information is written will also become increasingly important. Jargon, ‘legalese’ and a technical writing style have kept laymen in the dark and advisory fees sky-high for centuries. Those who can translate technical terms and speak the web user’s language will have a distinct advantage in the new information age.