Titled: Why Twitter is Over Capacity
You know the saying. Free milk and all that. As it happens, sometimes it’s true.
The latest evidence: A recent survey reported that of nearly 2,000 people who were asked if they’d consider paying for Twitter, exactly 0 percent of them said yes.
Not 15 percent. Not 10 percent. Zero.
That seems harsh, doesn’t it? I mean, what if it cost $1 a month? $1 a year? Is there a threshold on this “I’d never pay for Twitter in a million years” idea?
Experts are suggesting that once Internet users receive something for free, it’s extremely difficult to get them to pay for it. That’s the problem, for instance, with newspapers trying to charge for online news–which we’ve always gotten at no charge. (Although the New York Times is going to try it, kids.)
Would you pay for Twitter? What about Facebook? If Facebook was suddenly $5 a month for access, would you sign on or abandon ship?
(Image from Flickr user jeremiah_owyang)
Ugh, no! I really think that social networking sites should be free and would hate to see that form of communication go the way of roaming charges and rollover minutes…
That being said, I am more on board with paying for actual Internet content — as in, writing and photos and such that people had to work to create. Obviously (as a paid writer) I’m biased here, but I do think the shift towards free content has been bad for our business, at least while internet sites figure out a business model that actually works.
So wow, that doesn’t make much sense. I think communication should be free, but content producers should get paid for their professional communications… Hmm.
By: virginia600 on July 27, 2010
at 11:04 am
No no, that makes tons of sense. And I don’t believe all content should be free, necessarily. In fact, I think newspapers are probably going to have to start charging for online content to make ends meet — and eventually it’s just going to be something we pay for. Because if we lose newspapers and actual news reporting, whatever will the bloggers have to talk about?
By: Kate Ashford on July 27, 2010
at 12:22 pm
It is very difficult to charge users for something that was initially free UNLESS there is no other replacement option. If Facebook was $5, I do think people would initially pay (I would) but that might change if a competitor with a similar service offered it for free. I’m not sure people would pay for twitter though – outside businesses.
I agree with Virginia – the current ethos “all content should be free,” is wrong.
By: ryan on July 27, 2010
at 11:30 am
I do think Facebook could get away with charging, although they’d lose users and people would complain bitterly.
By: Kate Ashford on July 27, 2010
at 12:22 pm
Why pay (now) for “talking” and sharing “life” + stories socially? If Twitter had told the world in the beginning of it’s inception that their services would be complimentary to us for like say one year, then after that time period “fans” would be charged $$$, who would argue? (Probably a lot of folks!!) That did not happen though. So, it is not okey-dokey for us to dig deep into our pockets and pay-to-communicate now. A fee to Tweet is unacceptable ….. just weird. Another expense that most cannot afford. As for FACEBOOK asking for moola …. no. Most folks will be angry and upset. Everything in this life is about $$$$$$. Jeez.
By: Marcee on July 29, 2010
at 10:23 am
Thanks for weighing in. Luckily, I don’t think there are any plans for Twitter or Facebook to start charging (not that I’ve heard of, anyway). The survey was done primarily to discern people’s attitudes about online content and what they’d be willing to pay for. I just thought the results were interesting: ZERO percent would pay. Pretty strong number.
By: Kate Ashford on July 29, 2010
at 10:26 am
Hi Kate – I saw this article on techcrunch about paying for twitter. Apparently Robert Ebert would pay for twitter & so would 757 of his followers. Obviously, Robert Ebert is not a barometer for twitter user sentiment but nevertheless I thought it was interesting. Thanks again for the thought-provoking post.
By: ryan on August 2, 2010
at 6:48 am