[jamesmcnalley]

Monetization is really hard. The ‘90s was filled with the wreckage of companies that couldn’t get it right, with debris spreading out into the early ‘00s. The ad monetization model is one way to do it, and it can be rolled out to a wide variety of products, but it is unlikely to be the only model.

Business is hard, and it can take a long time and many failures to be truly innovative. I’m an engineer, but I’m a little sad that so few people with strong business backgrounds are trying new things. Maybe in another decade or two.

[overcast]

I guess the lesson here is to stop making a business out of burning venture capital, and start with a real business plan. There are plenty out that are building things people are willing to pay for. WhatsApp is super popular, because you're giving away the worlds 100th iteration of a chat client for free.