How Not To Give Your Software Away For Free

If you are a startup entrepreneur, at some point, you will need to make a decision regarding your business model.  Many software startups have a strategy to build early market traction by giving away their offering for free with some plan to monetize at a later date.  I’m not going to make a strong argument against this.  So, for purposes of this article, lets assume for a moment that as a software startup, you actually *want* to charge money for your software someday. 

Could This Scandal Change us for the Better?

I wanted to add a non-personal comment about the impassioned scandal rocking our community, the best way I could think of to improve the silence. 
This is a real test of the blogosphere.  Our culture and openness.  We don’t know all the facts, but there is enough to be disgusted.  We do know that part of this involves real core and dedicated bloggers.  We do know that this involves trolls, there will always be trolls, and we all have them.  We do know that some speech is illegal for a reason, and sociopaths run against society, but there are slippery slopes in all directions from the hill we think we have climbed.

Oddball YouTube Awards Announced Far, Wide

The winners of the first ever YouTube Video Awards have been announced, and ninjas and treadmill-hopping pop stars, among others, ruled the day.  Almost as interesting is the amount of attention the awards have gotten in the mainstream media.

MSNBC, ABC, and FOX.  Newsday, the Chicago Sun Times, and the New York Times.  Even sources in Australia, Britain, and Italy have reported on the outcome.  If anyone still had doubts about how well-known Google’s pet project has become, let those lists erase their misgivings.

ESPC Survey On Managing Email

The Email Sender and Provider Coalition have released the results of their survey that examines the email behaviors of consumers. The results revealed that the average American is an experienced email user and that they have specific ways of managing email and spam.
 The survey found that over 80 percent of consumers use the "Report Spam" and "Unsubscribe" features to manage the email they receive. Fifty-three percent said they would open and read email if the sending company had a certified icon in the email program.

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