37 Signals' Jason Fried generated some buzz yesterday by telling an audience at the Future of Web Apps conference in Miami that free is not the way to go for web applications. Quoting a blog post by Harrison Hoffman at CNet's Web Services Report blog (emphasis mine):
Compendium is another company that is putting Fried's hypothesis to the test. It's easy at first glance for someone to question how we can expect to succeed in selling a service that one could get for free somewhere else.
Usually the ones raising these kinds of questions are not familiar with our product. Some assume we've just repackaged an existing blogging product. Others are unaware of the feature sets that distinguish us from others. Others presume we're using black hat tactics to help our clients achieve SEO.
Compendium's hosted blogging service has been built from the ground up completely independent of anyone else's blogging platform. The development of features is driven by the real needs of businesses. That includes administrative content control, support for multiple users, and tools to help fight writer's block.
Moreover, we are mindful of doing SEO the right way, using best practices from reputable resources. When you've got an ever growing number of customers, the last thing you want to see happen is a dunk in their search engine result rankings.
Finally, because we are software-as-a-service, we commit to making sure that our clients' blogs are up and running at all hours of the day. We deal with the hassle of upgrading software when new features are ready. For businesses with limited and overstretched IT budgets or just a lack of technical know-how, this is a valuable service.
We also work hard to follow up on our customers to ensure that their corporate blogging programs remain active, making positive contributions to the company's overall marketing effors.
Bottom line: We are delivering value for our customers in ways that the free services could only hope to offer.
Jason told the crowd here today that "free is not the future of business." He stressed to the Web app developers and entrepreneurs in attendance that they need to start charging for their applications and that free is not the way to go.
Fried went on to say that it is rare that a company can sustain itself on a free-based strategy and that a pay-based competitor will be able to outlast them.
Especially in these tougher economic times, companies need to make money. Charging for applications is a great way to do it. That's not to say that charging is for everyone, but when applicable, people will pay for a high-quality product like 37signals' Basecamp.
Fried went on to say that it is rare that a company can sustain itself on a free-based strategy and that a pay-based competitor will be able to outlast them.
Especially in these tougher economic times, companies need to make money. Charging for applications is a great way to do it. That's not to say that charging is for everyone, but when applicable, people will pay for a high-quality product like 37signals' Basecamp.
Compendium is another company that is putting Fried's hypothesis to the test. It's easy at first glance for someone to question how we can expect to succeed in selling a service that one could get for free somewhere else.
Usually the ones raising these kinds of questions are not familiar with our product. Some assume we've just repackaged an existing blogging product. Others are unaware of the feature sets that distinguish us from others. Others presume we're using black hat tactics to help our clients achieve SEO.
Compendium's hosted blogging service has been built from the ground up completely independent of anyone else's blogging platform. The development of features is driven by the real needs of businesses. That includes administrative content control, support for multiple users, and tools to help fight writer's block.
Moreover, we are mindful of doing SEO the right way, using best practices from reputable resources. When you've got an ever growing number of customers, the last thing you want to see happen is a dunk in their search engine result rankings.
Finally, because we are software-as-a-service, we commit to making sure that our clients' blogs are up and running at all hours of the day. We deal with the hassle of upgrading software when new features are ready. For businesses with limited and overstretched IT budgets or just a lack of technical know-how, this is a valuable service.
We also work hard to follow up on our customers to ensure that their corporate blogging programs remain active, making positive contributions to the company's overall marketing effors.
Bottom line: We are delivering value for our customers in ways that the free services could only hope to offer.
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