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This "users using free services are of no value" meme needs to die. Twitter is nothing without their users so are many of these web services. Getting traction

This "users using free services are of no value" meme needs to die. Twitter is nothing without their users so are many of these web services. Getting traction depends on people using your service. If it becomes the norm that companies built will not exist in 2 years, why then should I invest my time in the service especially the free ones. I have run a startup that was not financially viable so I know it is not the fault of founders if things do not go according to plan. However, my co founder and I have left the site up since it does not cost much to do. However, if it did, we will be sure to make the transition as easy as possible. I am not saying users should be paid or compensated but should be thought of.

tptacek 15y ago
The management team of a failing company owes its first and most important responsibility to its employees, to make sure they're as well taken care of as possible. Following that, it owes its investors the maximal return on their investment. The users got their service for free. That was the deal: they use the site for free, in return for using the site. Any other obligation is a fiction. I might just as productively argue that it's the user's fault Gowalla failed --- punish the users for going to Foursquare! Except that's stupid, because Gowalla and its free users don't have any obligation to each other.
- JoachimSchipper 15y ago
  Future "free" services depend on users willing to rely on free services. One of those may be born every minute, but it's still bad for the typical startup if too many people get burned too badly and begin demanding control over their data. Some "group pressure" to take care of the users makes sense. (This seems to be the most cynical HN comment I've ever written.)
  - _delirium 15y ago
    That's why I think we have the odd reversed PR situation, where instead of companies trying to deny responsibility to their users, and critics arguing that they should be held responsible, we have the opposite. Companies running free services themselves do try to build a perception that they feel a sense of moral responsibility towards their users, cultivating a sort of "we're good stewards of our lovely users and their data, and wouldn't sell you out" perception. And their critics (like, say, Jason Scott or Richard Stallman) are the ones who emphasize the idea that free cloud services don't owe you anything (and therefore you shouldn't trust them to have your interests in mind).

tptacek 15y ago

The management team of a failing company owes its first and most important responsibility to its employees, to make sure they're as well taken care of as possible. Following that, it owes its investors the maximal return on their investment. The users got their service for free. That was the deal: they use the site for free, in return for using the site. Any other obligation is a fiction. I might just as productively argue that it's the user's fault Gowalla failed --- punish the users for going to Foursquare! Except that's stupid, because Gowalla and its free users don't have any obligation to each other.

JoachimSchipper 15y ago
Future "free" services depend on users willing to rely on free services. One of those may be born every minute, but it's still bad for the typical startup if too many people get burned too badly and begin demanding control over their data. Some "group pressure" to take care of the users makes sense. (This seems to be the most cynical HN comment I've ever written.)
- _delirium 15y ago
  That's why I think we have the odd reversed PR situation, where instead of companies trying to deny responsibility to their users, and critics arguing that they should be held responsible, we have the opposite. Companies running free services themselves do try to build a perception that they feel a sense of moral responsibility towards their users, cultivating a sort of "we're good stewards of our lovely users and their data, and wouldn't sell you out" perception. And their critics (like, say, Jason Scott or Richard Stallman) are the ones who emphasize the idea that free cloud services don't owe you anything (and therefore you shouldn't trust them to have your interests in mind).