# Google to become susbscription, cost $4.95/month to use any Google service \[hypothetical\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 7, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381 "2016-02-07T02:44:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leavesoflight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d07c76/32.png) [@leavesoflight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leavesoflight)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/21 "2016-02-08T00:21:30Z")
“would _be_ excluded” Why must I always find mistakes after posting something? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/22 "2016-02-08T00:25:11Z")
Nope. Still use AOL for e-mail and libraries (actual books) for research. Most of my Google is to find quick links/hints for people here. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/23 "2016-02-08T00:41:48Z")
If they did, I’d get it for free as I’m a Google Fiber customer. It’s soooo sweet. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2016, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/24 "2016-02-08T00:42:29Z")
No, of course not. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/25 "2016-02-11T16:46:32Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > The premise is not, on the face of it, absurd. Once upon a time, TV was free (and there were at most three channels in most places). Now many of us (I assume most of us, actually) pay a cable company for TV. Yes and no. Broadcast TV is just as free as it always was. In addition to broadcast TV, there are now a whole lot of new TV options, which cost money, and which a large number of people find enough value in to pay for. I don’t disagree that there are some similarities, but TV never was at the point of “You now have to pay for the exact same service/channels that you got for free last month” ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/26 "2016-02-11T17:40:33Z")
No, I wouldn’t. And it would be the death of google - other services would spring up that provided the same services for free, and people would just switch to those. Not everyone, perhaps, but enough to kill their advertising data model. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/27 "2016-02-13T08:19:19Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It _IS_, in fact, a hypothetical based on a false premise; that premise being that the people who use gmail, watch youtube videos, deploy the search engine, and enjoy other Google-related activities, are Google’s customers. > > We are, instead, Google’s product. No No No. Without a compelling product, there would be no customers to serve advertisements to. You have to bring in the eyeballs before you can get in the business of showing them ads. Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc, etc, this is true for every thriving “free” website. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/28 "2016-02-13T16:38:06Z")
I agree with the folks who’ve said they’re already monetizing our usage, just not in such a blatantly obvious way. That said, I already minimize my use of their evil empire and would change “minimal” to “exactly zero” if they did institute an overt charge. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381/29 "2016-02-13T17:40:30Z")
> [@Teuton](#): > > No, I wouldn’t. And it would be the death of google - other services would spring up that provided the same services for free, and people would just switch to those. Not everyone, perhaps, but enough to kill their advertising data model. Yeah, if this happened I’d wait for Google to die a much deserved death and move onto whichever service replaced it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-to-become-susbscription-cost-4-95-month-to-use-any-google-service-hypothetical/745381.md?page=1)