the.com/free events
the price of admission is your email address, three hours, and mild social obligation.
means gatherings with no ticket cost, monetized instead through data collection, upsells, sponsorships, or your future attendance at a paid thing.
from the model long predates the internet — church socials, trade show floors, open bars funded by whoever's logo is on the napkins — but it went industrial once companies realized a free workshop generates better leads than a cold email ever could.
real costyour inbox joins seventeen new mailing lists
conference tacticfree day one, paid day two is common
nonprofit tricksuggested donation at the door, socially enforced
true freerare — usually taxpayer or grant funded