4 ms·

I can't think of a specific example where I personally am concerned about it. As long as demand for a cloud service is real and profitable to serve, some entity

I can't think of a specific example where I personally am concerned about it. As long as demand for a cloud service is real and profitable to serve, some entity will do it. Data portability is only a problem with unproven services. If Facebook were to shut down, photo and data export services would immediately crop up. I'm more concerned about the opposite scenario, where I own something and mismanage it, like losing my hard drive without backup, or having a disaster hit my car / house where I don't have the proper insurance.

graue 14y ago
I'd be very concerned about Spotify, which is losing money. Although they have massive revenue, they end up immediately paying nearly all of it to record labels. http://hypedsound.com/news/details/SPOTIFY-FINANCIALS-DEEMED-UNSUSTAINABLE http://hypedsound.com/news/details/SPOTIFY-FINANCIALS-DEEMED... - Link includes a talk by Dalton Caldwell about why anyone doing what Spotify does is basically doomed. And content portability is definitely a problem with Amazon. Instant Video and Kindle both use DRM, so an export service would likely be illegal, and certainly nontrivial. Amazon could suddenly deny you access to your “purchases”: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-you-have-no-right-to-your-ebooks/index.htm http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-y... The other services don't seem as risky in terms of data loss, although Facebook could suddenly make your photos more public than you set them to be; they've taken many similar steps before.
- kapilkale 14y ago
  I pay for Spotify, and paid for Mog before Spotify was in the US. I suspect Spotify is break-even or makes money on paid users, so I'm not worried about it. Amazon is a more interesting case because I'm paying per piece of content, and I don't get to keep the content. If they shut down Video, I'd lose the value of my library (~$200). But the chances of that seem so low compared to what I have at stake to lose.
- Raphael 14y ago
  Surely the massive revenue would be an incentive for the record labels to keep Spotify alive.
- rpm4321 14y ago
  Spotify is obviously still in the land grab phase. I pay $5 a month for it, and would easily pay at least 6 times that, maybe more. Furthermore, the vast majority of its users are still freeloaders. I think a sizeable percentage would convert to paying customers if Spotify started to throttle back the free accounts or play more ads. Its an incredible service at a great value, especially when you cough up a tiny bit of money to get rid of the ads.

graue 14y ago

I'd be very concerned about Spotify, which is losing money. Although they have massive revenue, they end up immediately paying nearly all of it to record labels. http://hypedsound.com/news/details/SPOTIFY-FINANCIALS-DEEMED-UNSUSTAINABLE http://hypedsound.com/news/details/SPOTIFY-FINANCIALS-DEEMED... - Link includes a talk by Dalton Caldwell about why anyone doing what Spotify does is basically doomed. And content portability is definitely a problem with Amazon. Instant Video and Kindle both use DRM, so an export service would likely be illegal, and certainly nontrivial. Amazon could suddenly deny you access to your “purchases”: http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-you-have-no-right-to-your-ebooks/index.htm http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2012/10/rights-y... The other services don't seem as risky in terms of data loss, although Facebook could suddenly make your photos more public than you set them to be; they've taken many similar steps before.

kapilkale 14y ago
I pay for Spotify, and paid for Mog before Spotify was in the US. I suspect Spotify is break-even or makes money on paid users, so I'm not worried about it. Amazon is a more interesting case because I'm paying per piece of content, and I don't get to keep the content. If they shut down Video, I'd lose the value of my library (~$200). But the chances of that seem so low compared to what I have at stake to lose.
Raphael 14y ago
Surely the massive revenue would be an incentive for the record labels to keep Spotify alive.
rpm4321 14y ago
Spotify is obviously still in the land grab phase. I pay $5 a month for it, and would easily pay at least 6 times that, maybe more. Furthermore, the vast majority of its users are still freeloaders. I think a sizeable percentage would convert to paying customers if Spotify started to throttle back the free accounts or play more ads. Its an incredible service at a great value, especially when you cough up a tiny bit of money to get rid of the ads.