3 ms·

Second the income model we were using was made illegal because of a new law that was hurried through parlaiment due to issues unrelated to us. This

by vaksel 17y ago

Second the income model we were using was made illegal because of a new law that was hurried through parlaiment due to issues unrelated to us. This was the definitive blow. With no near-term prospect of turnover in a country where it isn't easy to go out and get external investors aboard there's nothing more you can do. What kind of business model was it? Can't really think of anything "illegal" you could even do with a social network website

mixmax 17y ago
The businessmodel was based on overtaxed SMS services. You'd be able to sign up for updates about parties, where your friends were, etc. and each SMS would cost around 20 cents. What made this work well was the fact that the overtaxed SMS is initiated by the server meaning that users that are signed up can receive a SMS and the 20 cents are immediately drawn from their mobile account. We had a a system set up so that people had to not only opt-in, but also accept a SMS when they signed up for this so that they wouldn't feel cheated. We had other things such as a monthly maximum, etc. set up to make sure everyone was OK with it. As you'll quickly realise the fact that overtaxed SMS services are initiated from the server can be misused - get a bunch of random phone numbers and send them all a SMS that costs $10. Someone did this, and the law was quickly changed so that a load of back-and-forth SMS'es were required to make the payment go through. Since each SMS costs money to send it ended up actually costing money to have this service running.
pavlov 17y ago
The original post mentions "overtaxed" SMS messages, so maybe their model involved some kind of money transfers between users. This could have been rendered illegal as a side effect of legislation that attempted to limit text message lending. (SMS loans may not be familiar to Americans. They're a widespread and very profitable business in some European countries, and there have been attempts to curtail them through legislation due to perceived ethical concerns. The idea is that you can get a loan by sending a text message, and the money is transferred directly to your account -- great when you run out of money while drinking on the town... The fees are extremely high compared to any other kind of loan, of course.) Edit -- my guess was wrong :) The original poster provided the details.

by vaksel 17y ago

mixmax 17y ago

The businessmodel was based on overtaxed SMS services. You'd be able to sign up for updates about parties, where your friends were, etc. and each SMS would cost around 20 cents. What made this work well was the fact that the overtaxed SMS is initiated by the server meaning that users that are signed up can receive a SMS and the 20 cents are immediately drawn from their mobile account. We had a a system set up so that people had to not only opt-in, but also accept a SMS when they signed up for this so that they wouldn't feel cheated. We had other things such as a monthly maximum, etc. set up to make sure everyone was OK with it. As you'll quickly realise the fact that overtaxed SMS services are initiated from the server can be misused - get a bunch of random phone numbers and send them all a SMS that costs $10. Someone did this, and the law was quickly changed so that a load of back-and-forth SMS'es were required to make the payment go through. Since each SMS costs money to send it ended up actually costing money to have this service running.

pavlov 17y ago

The original post mentions "overtaxed" SMS messages, so maybe their model involved some kind of money transfers between users. This could have been rendered illegal as a side effect of legislation that attempted to limit text message lending. (SMS loans may not be familiar to Americans. They're a widespread and very profitable business in some European countries, and there have been attempts to curtail them through legislation due to perceived ethical concerns. The idea is that you can get a loan by sending a text message, and the money is transferred directly to your account -- great when you run out of money while drinking on the town... The fees are extremely high compared to any other kind of loan, of course.) Edit -- my guess was wrong :) The original poster provided the details.