Business Model - Gossip

Score: -2

Given that these are business models for an industry that could be considered brand new when contrasted with such practices as "direct sales" or the grandaddy of the all, "bartering," new business model terms are likely in order as well. If conducting business with a trusted company or person, like your doctor or your accountant could be considered working in confidence, or working with a confidant, then working with many "social network" companies could be considered working with a business world "gossip."

The "Gossip" business model is one in which the bulk of the income is derived from an ambiguously defined product based on information intended for someone other than the company, and communicated under the companies stewardship, being sold to an unknown customer set. In other words, a "free" communication service is offered by the company only as a means to extract information from the end users of that service that is then homogenized and resold to corporate customers. Metaphorically speaking, a "Gossip" business model based company literally milks their end users for a product they resell to their customer base.

That resold information is then used by the unknown purchaser against the very same milk donors in ways they could not know, if only because they don't know who is using the information.