Posterous

The Steve Rubel Stream

Insights on emerging technologies and trends.

"Are the Free Lunch Days Over for Web Apps?" That's Not the Only Question

It seems as if every once-free service is now pondering ways to make money and extract revenue from their members, which makes sense when you consider that they are, after all, businesses.

I have long been a fan of using web apps. But a funny thing happened - 1) better apps on the desktop, like via Adobe Air (an Edelman client) and 2) mobile apps that are mini versions of the desktop apps. These use the cloud to sync and have changed some of my habits. That may alter the game for web apps just when perhaps they thought they had it cinched. The cloud is becoming an intermediary not the medium.

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Posted 8 months ago
2 comments
Jun 23, 2009
I would gladly pay for an online hub that gave me a personalized site that did everything I need – think e-mail, storage, connections, writing, RSS, “tweets”, etc. It’s what Google’s building and they won’t be the only one. Eventually, there will be a handful of big providers that will integrate nicely but have specific traits, benefits and styles. Can’t wait.
Jun 26, 2009
Free is currently underrated. When the marginal cost of your service is zero, free *MUST* be a major aspect of your model. If you can get traction with free, monetizing is easy.

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