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Apps that rely on network effects to be successful need a free model, or an existing base with critical mass. The latter is nice if you have it. Freemium is a
by wgj 17y ago
Apps that rely on network effects to be successful need a free model, or an existing base with critical mass. The latter is nice if you have it.
Freemium is a great way to get some users to pay for value created out of the total network effect created by mostly free users.
I don't think Markus Frind was swinging for the fences when he created plentyoffish.com with a free model. I think he realized how hard it was going to be to get enough people on a dating site to make it interesting.
- byoung2 17y agoI couldn't agree more...there's no way Facebook or Twitter would have gotten as many users as they have now if they charged for their services on day 1. They might be able to get away with it now. But for other apps that provide a more tangible service and don't rely on the "network effect" (say, Evernote or Freshbooks), there is a compelling case to charge from the beginning.
- wgj 17y agoThe article argues that all such apps are "swinging for the fences" and I don't completely agree with that. You can plateau a lot smaller than twitter and still benefit from delayed revenue, or alternative revenue models.
- bradleyjoyce 17y agoit's an obvious generalization... every app is going to be different depending on it's purpose and target customers/users. Your example of plentyoffish is perfect. A site/app like that DEPENDS on having tons of active users, in which case the fastest route to that is free.