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Why would users pay when they can send messages sent for free? A combination of awareness that TANSTAAFL and network effects - RIM sold plenty of BB hardware t
by gaius 8y ago
Why would users pay when they can send messages sent for free?
A combination of awareness that TANSTAAFL and network effects - RIM sold plenty of BB hardware to people who just wanted access to BBM because that’s where all their friends were, so there’s precedent.
I think it’s pretty safe to assume that even if there were a paid option for FB, Insta, WhatsApp they would still do everything they could to monetise personal data, because that’s just the kind of company FB is, rapacious.
- Freak_NL 8y agoYou're not going to reach the tipping point with just that. Most users don't care one iota about why their lunch is free. They know you feel strongly about that topic, but feel that they just have nothing to hide, that targetted advertisements are really pretty convenient, that they are rather good at ignoring advertisements, that they are not the real target after all with their modest income — that you are just fighting the inevitable based on some vague principle. The majority at this point in time does not seem to care about privacy, but they do care about the price. Also, what's the point of moving to just another walled garden? Apple will still keep the service proprietary and closed to third party clients, so you'll also lose the vocal software freedom folk in your approach.
- umichguy 8y ago"RIM sold plenty of BB hardware to people who just wanted access to BBM because that’s where all their friends were, so there’s precedent." Ahhh...those heady BBM days..BBM Pins and stuff. It's amazing how quickly everything changed for BB.