Comments on: Would You Pay To Access Social Networks Sites?

By: Scott Paterson

Scott Paterson — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:32:47 +0000

Christie: Features are one thing, but there’s also the reliability of the service. I run across the occasional glitch on Facebook. While it’s free, I have no problem accepting them. If I were paying for it, I’d expect it to be nearly perfect, without ads, and some kind of global blocker to prevent invites from all my app-junkie friends and relatives.

By: Christie Adams

Christie Adams — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:01:28 +0000

Interesting-so the curiosity (and exclusivity?) factor worked-and so did essentially an offer to barter, not to buy.

I wonder if people would be more comfortable bartering for social media services rather than buying them?

By: John Carson

John Carson — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:12:56 +0000

Hi Christie,

I bought a copy of “Tribes” as a condition of joining Seth Godin’s closed social network at http://www.triiibes.com/ so, in effect, I did pay for a social network.

The curiosity factor (and because it’s part of my job) made me keen to see who else was in there.

Cheers,
John.

By: Christie Adams

Christie Adams — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:39:42 +0000

I think the level of expected service is key, Scott. Most of these sites already offer features that people really like. Is there a next level of features available above that? I don’t know. And I don’t know if people will be willing to pay for what they used to get for free.

Jill, I agree that many sites will have to prove their worth. What makes social networks work, though, is if people make them work, which is why many will be so reluctant to pay when they’re the ones who do all the work. The question is, then, what options are available to social networks?

By: Scott Paterson

Scott Paterson — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:34:30 +0000

It would really depend on how much the fee was, and how many of my friends were also willing to pay. In addition, if there was a cost involved, my expectations of service would almost certainly go up as well.

By: Jill Hurst-Wahl

Jill Hurst-Wahl — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:09:56 +0000

If I had to pay, I would definitely scale back on the number of sites I use. I would experiment with new sites much less. A site would have to prove its worth in order to stay viable and I imagine that many sites would fail. Among my friends and colleagues, I bet we’d decide on a select sites to use and drop the rest.