From Facebook to Scrabulous. An excerpt from the Wharton article:
The Agarwallas' entrée into viral superstardom demonstrates the business opportunities inherent in the Facebook platform, according to Wharton's Whitehouse. Launching an online application is "not like cranking up a manufacturing plant," he says. "The barriers to entry, while not trivial, are relatively low -- basically the cost of a clever programmer's time." The Agarwallas' seemingly accidental success is actually a common pattern, he adds. "Often developers create their first application without any immediate plans for revenue generation. If it doesn't take off, it doesn't matter, because they didn't expect to make any money. If it does take off, they can then figure out how to generate revenue." Such a nothing-to-lose strategy is less appealing for major businesses. "The lone programmer has a different set of incentives for making his work available for free. An established company, with a responsibility to its shareholders, will probably take a more measured path."
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