One of the key ideas for any new product is "how will we make money?" or "Will our customers be willing to pay for it?"
Julie O'Dell writes,
In a new study, researchers found that while half of all Americans surveyed have tried a free web app like Twitter, zero percent of them would be willing to pay to use Twitter or a similar service.
This finding is just one unearthed by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism’s 2010 Digital Future Study, a study that’s been tracking online and social media behavior for the past nine years.
In December 2009, users were hit with a hoax that Facebook would start charging $5/mo. My friends and family went insane but all agreed that they'd pay for it.
How will your product make money? The old school answer was "advertising." The new school is "value add." Look at the fabulous Flipboard app which turns Facebook and Twitter into a magazine format.
How will your product make money?
