If you are employed to write software that solves a problem your company is willing to pay for, you receive money.
If you are self-employed to write software that solves a problem many people are willing to pay for, you receive money.
If you are self-employed to write software that doesn't solve problems, or solves problems people aren't willing to pay for, you will NOT receive money, and any means that you deploy to try and extract value out of people will be seen as a nuisance.
Free apps, especially online games, are like a street performer's music:
-they make you smile when it's good, and not look back if it's bad
-they're free
-you didn't plan for it, or travel far just to hear it, you likely happened upon it
-you may return to the street corner on your way home
-you will not return if you do not have time
-you will not return if the performer pestered you for money
-you may decide to tip the performer
-you will decide not to tip the performer if he seems dangerous, aggressive, or otherwise inquisitive about your private life
TO be fair, apps do these advantages:
-you don't have to physically return for a repeat experience
-24/7 performance
-very easy to spread by word-of-link
Use these to your strength, not to boost your ego to think that you are a "totally different" revenue model.
So how do street performers make money?
-receive donations
-not pester listeners for donations
-not being scary perv/stalker, or looking like one
-sell content not available for free
-sell content collected in a nice, convenient package/album
A lot of sites will list all the content they have, and when you click on certain ones, tell you that they are for "premium customers only". Why wait till the user clicks on it? To go back to my street-performer analogy, it's as if he asks if you'd like him to play you Pachelbel's Canon, and you say, yeah that'd be awesome, and he stretches out his hand. You feel deceived. You may pay out of guilt in real life, but in cyberspace, you just leave and go download the equivalent, from a well-reputed/professional/famous source, for free. Always tell the user this is paying content before wasting his time.
If you are employed to write software that solves a problem your company is willing to pay for, you receive money.
If you are self-employed to write software that solves a problem many people are willing to pay for, you receive money.
If you are self-employed to write software that doesn't solve problems, or solves problems people aren't willing to pay for, you will NOT receive money, and any means that you deploy to try and extract value out of people will be seen as a nuisance.
Free apps, especially online games, are like a street performer's music:
-they make you smile when it's good, and not look back if it's bad
-they're free
-you didn't plan for it, or travel far just to hear it, you likely happened upon it
-you may return to the street corner on your way home
-you will not return if you do not have time
-you will not return if the performer pestered you for money
-you may decide to tip the performer
-you will decide not to tip the performer if he seems dangerous, aggressive, or otherwise inquisitive about your private life
TO be fair, apps do these advantages:
-you don't have to physically return for a repeat experience
-24/7 performance
-very easy to spread by word-of-link
Use these to your strength, not to boost your ego to think that you are a "totally different" revenue model.
So how do street performers make money?
-receive donations
-not pester listeners for donations
-not being scary perv/stalker, or looking like one
-sell content not available for free
-sell content collected in a nice, convenient package/album
A lot of sites will list all the content they have, and when you click on certain ones, tell you that they are for "premium customers only". Why wait till the user clicks on it? To go back to my street-performer analogy, it's as if he asks if you'd like him to play you Pachelbel's Canon, and you say, yeah that'd be awesome, and he stretches out his hand. You feel deceived. You may pay out of guilt in real life, but in cyberspace, you just leave and go download the equivalent, from a well-reputed/professional/famous source, for free. Always tell the user this is paying content before wasting his time.
Anyone else?