http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/ The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 06:02:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-40445 chrisw Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:23:25 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-40445 I agree that the concept of free web services is dangerous. As a web developer, I have invested years and lots of my own money developing an online content publishing platform aimed at the masses. I intend to charge customers an annual fee to use it. The idea of giving it away for free has been considered but I decided that charging for it was a better option. One company that springs to mind is SmugMug.com - these guys have established a very successful business in a market dominated by a free service - flickr.com . Many people would think that an online photo sharing site where you have to pay is a stupid idea - but SmugMug.com has over 450,000 users - and none of them are using the service for free. Go figure! I agree that the concept of free web services is dangerous. As a web developer, I have invested years and lots of my own money developing an online content publishing platform aimed at the masses. I intend to charge customers an annual fee to use it. The idea of giving it away for free has been considered but I decided that charging for it was a better option. One company that springs to mind is SmugMug.com - these guys have established a very successful business in a market dominated by a free service - flickr.com . Many people would think that an online photo sharing site where you have to pay is a stupid idea - but SmugMug.com has over 450,000 users - and none of them are using the service for free. Go figure!

]]> http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-45982 chrisw Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:23:25 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-45982 I agree that the concept of free web services is dangerous. As a web developer, I have invested years and lots of my own money developing an online content publishing platform aimed at the masses. I intend to charge customers an annual fee to use it. The idea of giving it away for free has been considered but I decided that charging for it was a better option. One company that springs to mind is <a href="http://SmugMug.com">SmugMug.com</a> - these guys have established a very successful business in a market dominated by a free service - <a href="http://flickr.com">flickr.com</a> . Many people would think that an online photo sharing site where you have to pay is a stupid idea - but <a href="http://SmugMug.com">SmugMug.com</a> has over 450,000 users - and none of them are using the service for free. Go figure! I agree that the concept of free web services is dangerous. As a web developer, I have invested years and lots of my own money developing an online content publishing platform aimed at the masses. I intend to charge customers an annual fee to use it. The idea of giving it away for free has been considered but I decided that charging for it was a better option. One company that springs to mind is SmugMug.com - these guys have established a very successful business in a market dominated by a free service - flickr.com . Many people would think that an online photo sharing site where you have to pay is a stupid idea - but SmugMug.com has over 450,000 users - and none of them are using the service for free. Go figure!

]]> http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-40444 Tim Lee Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:37:11 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-40444 Great post, Adam. Great post, Adam.

]]> http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-45981 Tim Lee Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:37:11 +0000 http://techliberation.com/2008/01/16/the-danger-of-the-danger-of-free/#comment-45981 Great post, Adam. Great post, Adam.

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