Neil Chase, a former editor at The New York Times and now with Federated Media, doesn't see this blurring of ads and content as a problem.

He argues that readers are adept at figuring out the difference between ads and editorial. If anything the new model may be making good on the old web dream of free media sharing for all, he argues, because it makes it possible for bloggers to make their writing available for free, while still getting compensated for it. Music and video content could go the same way, incorporating adverts to support their creators.

But wall-to-wall ads are not the only way to support media on the web, says Michael Geist at the University of Ottawa. He argues that another system can work for music and video: a media-sharing tax that makes it legal to download anything you like. Canada already has a version of this in the shape of a levy on blank CDs and DVDs. It means Canadians are allowed to engage in music file-sharing without being sued for copyright infringement.

"The developments we're seeing [with media sharing] aren't going away," says Geist. "As more companies succeed with open business models that could be stifled by copyright laws they'll seek to have their voices heard." When people raised on file-sharing become politicians, Geist believes, we'll see legislation that encourages open models of media sharing online.

For now, though, the name of the game is restricting access. Technological improvements mean that more and more content can be delivered on the web, but with greater and greater control exerted by the entertainment companies.

One way this is happening is through services such as Watch Now, from DVD-rental company Netflix. It allows subscribers to watch movies online without having to wait for them to download, but the movies can only be viewed on Windows Media Player, strongly limiting where and how you can watch the movies.

The Netflix model represents the next step in media restriction - part of a new, closed era when more content than ever is available on the net, but only in limited ways. Enjoy web 2.0 while it lasts.