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When free language sites turn to profit | ||
Tags: Internet | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5380 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes  Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 17 of 27 13 June 2013 at 5:57pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Unfortunately, we all are. 8 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| leosmith Senior Member United States Joined 6549 days ago 2365 posts - 3804 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Tagalog | Message 18 of 27 14 June 2013 at 7:22am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I have to disagree with you here. Unless you are an owner of these types of sites/products, the best you can do is guess at what really makes long term profits. I'm convinced that making people pay for something that's been a very successful free product for several years is a big money maker. Yes, I'm guessing too. But so many big sites have done this, dropped major hints that their profitability skyrocketed, and still remain in business. For example, Kaufman was bragging about this in another LingQ thread a friend sent me. Why an owner would actually disclose this is a mystery, but it sounded like he was telling the truth. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5008 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 19 of 27 14 June 2013 at 2:04pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Unfortunately, they remain in the business, just as other companies who make crapy products of any kind. They are not ashamed of the way they treat their customers because there are many stupid customers who give them money nonetheless.
An example: Majority of the parasites working in the fun industry says the copyright in this current ugly and stupid form is necessary. But than there are authors and musicians (like Neil Gaiman or Dresden Dolls) who have discovered that an alternative earns them much more money. That not being a jerk pays off. Unfortunately the industry is too big to be changed fast and it uses all the possible dirty tricks to keep to their lazy money. It doesn't matter to them that some studies already show that giving more for free or reasonable prices and treating the customers well leads to more money in the end. It is not just my wild guess. The reason why the language learning market goes the opposite way is simple. It is smaller and it is still discovering the internet so it is making exactly the same mistakes. Trying to squeeze the money out of people at all costs. No wonder the whole situation is full of unhappy learners/customers who just give up and won't pay a single more cent because "they have no brain for languages". 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 20 of 27 14 June 2013 at 2:05pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
We all are, no need to single me out. But I sure hope our contributions will stay alive even after we are gone. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5380 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 21 of 27 14 June 2013 at 2:49pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Well, you singled yourself out. But there is no point in taking that remark seriously (or personally). 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| hrhenry Octoglot Senior Member United States languagehopper.blogs Joined 5129 days ago 1871 posts - 3642 votes Speaks: English*, SpanishC2, ItalianC2, Norwegian, Catalan, Galician, Turkish, Portuguese Studies: Polish, Indonesian, Ojibwe | Message 22 of 27 14 June 2013 at 3:33pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
And 8 people voted for your post. Does that make you feel any better? Honestly, who cares how many votes a post gets? It's not a contest. R. == 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5008 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 23 of 27 14 June 2013 at 4:25pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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Of course we all are dispensable. But I would miss you here, Serpent :-)
(But if you still want to bring those "like" contests from facebook here, than I demand another fb inspired feature. Throwing virtual dictionaries at each other. And games like BiblioVille. And embarassing photos/audio/video of people using the languages/failing at it, preferably drunk :-D And anonymous answers on questions about other members, such as "Do you think Iversen's photo with the gepard is photoshopped?") 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6596 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 24 of 27 14 June 2013 at 4:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I'm just disgusted that someone is quietly voting for that post and not even showing their face. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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