See, most Wall Street research is only available to clients. And the public never gets to see it unless financial media outlets like Bloomberg, CNBC, and Business Insider report on it.

Through Twitter, Morgan Stanley is able to give the public a sneak peak at the type of experts they have to offer, without giving away everything that their clients pay for. (link)

Welcome to Twitter, Morgan Stanley.  The Morgan Stanley handle is dropping some serious knowledge, like the kind of insight only big companies pay for. 

It’s actually a wise move, the freemium model Internet users are used to by now. 

Musicians were one of the first to start giving away product for free.  The industry got ripped apart by piracy so the only way to counteract was to drop free downloads with a few strings, like acquiring an email.  At least now the artist could sell something directly to fans and inform them of upcoming shows. 

The newspapers struggled with the freemium model for years, refusing to give away anything but a headline.  But the New York Times caught on quickly, leaving articles online for free so they could spread through the Twitter and Facebook outlets to reach new eyeballs. The New York Times announced today that it’ll expand its reach to Flipboard, reasoning that ubiquitous content on all platforms is what readers want.

The Washington Post even made a Facebook app.  Others like the Financial Times are dubious, safeguarding articles behind a Paywall.  

There are lessons to be learned about the freemium model.  But at the moment, free and ubiquitous content appears to be appetizing enough to turn people into subscribers.