I love a lot of what 37 signals are about but I must say I don’t agree with David’s view that monetize is word we don’t need. Monetize doesn’t mean making money. Monetization is a conversion process, which is why I like the word (even though I use it sparingly because it is so misunderstood). For example you can monetize your house by selling it. That doesn’t make any money it just changes the form of the asset.
If people paid more attention to the process of monetization they can indirectly make some money. How you ask? Assets all fluctuate in value. Employing monetization when you want to convert unrealised asset value into realised asset value is key. Lack of asset liquidity is a problem that monetization techniques address, but strictly speaking it doesn’t make you any money, just realises the gains or losses. What you build, sell and do makes the money in reality. Landscape your house to make some money, sell it to monetise it.
