zlacker

Unfortunate. Goes to show that you really can't break even without ads or selling/analysing data with a centralised social network.

>>grenoi+(OP)
or put another way, "people don't want to pay for most things"

>>hkmura+b
Some variant of Sturgeon's Law?

>>hkmura+b
Or to put it another way, people care more about money than their own privacy.

>>AceJoh+i
Not necessarily. I'd make some comment about people's price elasticities (or maybe "people overvalue free"), but I'm not exactly sure what it would be.

>>hkmura+b
Personally, I always wanted to see a site that has ads and is free to read, but charges a small fee to create an account - just to see if it would help reduce trolling and sock puppets.

>>Esau+e1
Do you mean something like Metafilter? [0]

Anonymous users see ads. Authenticated users don't. It costs $5 for an account.

They have run funding drives but, to date, $5/user keeps the lights on and provides a small crew of moderators each a modest stipend.

[0] http://www.metafilter.com

Edit: spelling, grammar.

>>Esau+e1
SomethingAwful does this, it works.

>>grenoi+(OP)
you really can't break even without ads or selling/analysing data with a centralised social network

I don't think we actually know that as a fact, it's just that not much else has been tried.

>>dgfgfd+z
Yep. I have a limited amount of money that I need to spend on more essential purchases. I'll happily trade my data/privacy for the right frivolity.

When someone starts letting me pay for groceries with my browser history sign me up.

>>dgfgfd+z
For the right price I'm okay. I paid Netflix for an account but they use my data to train their algorithm and enhance their product. I don't know all the details behind their work. Am I not trading their privacy? Do I really know if they aren't selling my data my preference with another partner? Do I want to pay $$ for social network? I have to weigh what justifies cost for me; most of my friends won't pay for an account for Facebook, and because I enjoy having an online social network with my real life friends, I am okay for as long as Facebook doesn't sell my name to advertiser (they can track my browser history for sure and I know they do). I accept the risk and I keep a close eyes on my online activity so nothing backfires on me.

>>paulco+C3
That would be thousands of dollars a year in value. Do you happen to have anything to offer besides your browser history? An email list perhaps?

>>dgfgfd+z
Don't think it's really about privacy in this case. I mean how can anyone seriously be a Twitter user and caring about their privacy.

Would be like standing in the town square screaming your thoughts into a loud speaker then being upset that everyone knows what your thinking.

>>mister+M1
Or The WELL, which has the best interface hands down of any social network -- but it's filled with a homogeneous paste of same-aged, same-politics, same-favorite-Dead-live-bootleg Classic Nerd-Hippies.

>>rhizom+A2
I find cloud feadreader aren't that different at least from the view point of a passive reader. They seem to be profitable, by restricting free features. Like: only x feeds free to aggregate and a ~15 minute delay of all feeds. Search is also a pro feature. I also have the feeling twitter is extremely over engineered.

>>paulco+C3
If your browser history consisted of you shopping for groceries, would this be a self-paying system and eternal free food?

Good idea isn't it?