I'm cool with content providers charging. What I'm not ok with is some discovery channels getting free access to that content, while others don't.
As far as Google is concerned, they're a business, not a public utility. If a content provider can choose what and whom to show to, so can Google.
The ethical approach would be to not be indexed by Google, but rather, use a pure paid ads approach (or a revenue sharing model).
To not have a universal interaction model is deceptive. (I search on Google, see an article, click, and use your nifty sharing widget, but those I share with are prompted to subscribe, and now I look bad)
As far as Google is concerned, they're a business, not a public utility. If a content provider can choose what and whom to show to, so can Google.
The ethical approach would be to not be indexed by Google, but rather, use a pure paid ads approach (or a revenue sharing model).
To not have a universal interaction model is deceptive. (I search on Google, see an article, click, and use your nifty sharing widget, but those I share with are prompted to subscribe, and now I look bad)