“The future model will marry content with e-commerce”.

I really hope that this is done thoughtfully—not like Google Adsense ads inserted into blogs, times ten. 

I, for one, will always pay for premium, ad-free content over lower-cost, ad-supported conten.  I value my mind.  I value my own undivided attention.  In my own publishing business, I try to always give readers the gift of their own undivided attention.

I wonder how many other people feel this way (even if they don’t know it.) I wonder if undivided attention has actual market value.

That’s a good point.  I can’t vouch for the folks at the conference, but I could see ways in which content brings people together, and there is a natural extension to engage in appropriate types and levels of commerce.

We see this in various crafts sites, for example, as well as in the affiliate programs offered by online retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  I think “just in time” commerce can be of great value, more so than the somewhat blind, push model seen with Adsense and other services.

Like you, I value a clean environment to get my messages across, so we’ve elected to not put any ads on the Magellan blog.  Of course, I don’t charge for access, either.  I think we will see an evolving eco-system of paid (ad-free), quasi-paid (either through advertising or lower subscription plus advertising) and community-based commerce, with people choosing the model that works for them.