It’s Not Just About You, Elon. It’s the $8 Fee.
Twitter, Netflix and other tech companies are finding out that “free” was never a good business model.
Buying status is just gauche.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
An interesting and revealing thing happened on Twitter in recent weeks. The infamous blue check mark, once a status symbol among people in media and others who spend time too much time online, took on a negative connotation. There are even hashtags shaming subscribers to the new fee-based “Twitter Blue.” On its face it’s not clear why; there should be no shame in paying for a better Twitter experience — especially if you spend many hours consuming it.
The drama revealed many of our behavioral biases and why they pose a challenge for an economy in transition. The tech economy bet on a business strategy that offered free services as a lure to build a network that they could one day monetize. That day has arrived, and it turns out networks may not be able to convert to a profitable model. In fact, charging money now may kill their current money-losing model entirely.