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Spotify and other popular apps trick you into doing free labor
- wodenokoto 7y agoAccording to the article one of the four things you are tricked into doing is paying for the service ...(along with answering posts on the forum, in-app surveys, and generally speaking good about the app in public)
- ksaj 7y agoReddit pretty much does all of the above. Plus, Reddit Gold is a brilliant way to convince some users to pay way more than a typical cost of membership in other similar groups. Not only can people buy their way into the lounges, they are also encouraged to buy gold for anyone who posts something you particularly like. And it is somewhat gamified, because if you buy gold for other people already in a lounge, they get access to further lounges and you get more or less noticed as a super friendly user, who... obtains more gold and access to the more cliquy lounges. Etc etc. When it comes to curation and data collection, Reddit pretty much leaves it entirely to the users to form the channels, administer them, etc. Lots of free labour through and through. And of course that provides Reddit lots of data to monetize. But, unlike the article, I don't think anyone is getting ripped off. It's akin to real-world volunteerism, and not unlike joining a club and taking part in its maintenance.