I am glad that .com are sorry to see me go

by T. Netland

New .com business models are popping up more often than I update my Facebook wall these days. Either through apps or web-services, the providers promise you a service that you will not understand how you coped without before. Some of them are definitely adding value for the society, while some are more annoying than good. I’ve tried out several of these electronic products – some I will continue using, but many I will let go. Here’s my decision list for some of the services I’ve used lately:

  • Apples Appstore: The best model for me and for Apple… PASSED.
  • WordPress for blogging: Not as free as it looks at fist sight but definitely worth it if you want to blog. PASSED.
  • Twitter for micro blogging: Still has to see what this service will yield, but absolutely hassle and payment free. PASSED
  • Groupon: After ca 100 e-mails, with “irresistable” offers that I did not use any of I give up. FAILED.
  • Google offers beta: Even worse offers than Groupon but just as many e-mails. FAILED.
  • FaceBook for social networking: Yes, still there. PASSED.
  • Google Plus for social networking: Couldn’t even link the one invitation I got to my newly established account. FAILED.
  • Linked’in groups: Hard to be updated on all the stuff in here after a while, but it might come in handy a day and do keep me posted on things I self choose to follow. Free and PASSED.
  • Spotify for music: Good for me, good for Spotify, not so good for the artists. Still easily PASSED.
  • iCloud for document sharing: Only thing I really can use here is the automatic picture sharing between PC, iPhone and iPad. I’ve tried the document storage but it does not play nicely with my PC. FAILED.
  • Dropbox for document storage: Free and good for documents up to 2.5GB. Integrates good with my iPad PDF-reader iAnnotatePDF which definitely helps it being PASSED.
  • box.net for document storage: if you have Dropbox, a USB stick and access to a secure server you do not need this service. FAILED.
  • Evernote for memory (saves things you browse that you would like to save for later use): Forget it. If you do not read it right away, you are not going to later either. And they send annoying e-mails. FAILED.
  • Stumbleupon for news: One more source of news… I have not been able to tune it into the specific area of my interest, but I will not give up before I have given it a fair chance. UNDETERMINED.
  • Amazon.com for online shopping. Has always delivered. Absolutely and very easily PASSED.
  • PayPal for online transactions. Transactions made easier and safer. PASSED.

In conclusion, most such .com business models are not getting rich with my usage. Many of them rely solely or heavily on advertising for income. Ads are also the most annoying feature of all of them, and if delivered by e-mail they are the primary reason why I leave them behind. Many of them revolutionize how we work, but if you plan to be on top of everything new out there you’ll literally drown in information. Which services can you not do without?