Interesting Article Contrasting Free Social Media Sites and Pay-to-Play SaaS Applications

Over at Small Business Trends, George Langan has posted an interesting article juxtaposing free social media sites and pay SaaS applications. I like what the author has to say about social media sites getting everyone comfortable with web apps - even if they do set an expectation for free everything.

At the end of the day, I think businesses understand that in the same way they can't give their products away for free and expect to stay in business, they cannot expect the tools they use to be available without cost. As SaaS applications mature, they will become more and more vital to day-to-day business operations. The wise business person must consider their vendors' business models before adopting a solution. Would you be comfortable running your company's AR/AP on a free application? What happens if that company suddenly shuts down when the VC funding dries up? Just like dad used to say, there is no free lunch...