Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
(Yes, I'm still analyzing Free, Freemium, et. al).
So as I've noted many times – and as can be noted elsewhere – giving things away for free builds trust and you can make money with Freemium. Building trust with free items is an old technique that sadly seems to need to keep being relearned by people.
Free as is rather obvious, is common now with free game demos, free comics, free online books, Freemium games, etc. We're awash in free things.
What do people want? That's a big question in any business venture or job, and one that is often surprisingly hard to answer. In many cases people just hope people want what they make, or hope to convince them they want it (that's what marketing departments are for).
Right now in the age of DLC, e-comics, and online purchases from stores with gigantic virtual inventories, we've got an incredible opportunity to find out what people want. We'd better be ready, because the meandering-forward economy with its eBooks and virtual stores and fermium games is going to be a giant learning opportunity.
I've explored that
There's only one more thing for me to examine out of all of this – namely, how do I think you could create a Virtual Star correctly and profitably? I've been enjoying this analysis, and want to indulge in a little thought experiment on what can work. So here's How Steve Would Do It: