Examples of successful firms like Google

Wikipedia stands out as the main encyclopedia on Internet in which the information are supplied and written directly by any user thanks to the "Wiki tool". I think its success is essentially due to the "collaboration" aspect. Moreover people may consider the information given as accurate and not "partial" since they can be corrected by anybody.

The newspaper "Le monde" is one of the first newspaper that has proposed a version of its newspaper on internet free of charge. So did all the other newspapers. For a few months, it proposes charged subscriptions including extra offers on its website such as an access to old newspapers' records,...

Ebay is a free website dedicated to auction in which people buy and sell goods all over the world. It stands as one of the most famous websites in the world.

PAP is a French website that edits property ads of individuals. So it just puts in touch property owners and people who are looking for accommodation. To see the offers, you don't have to pay anything.

Ratp (running parisian metro and bus network) has a website, on which people can work out its route to get somewhere in Paris or in the suburbs and check the way to get there.