Web Startup Taking Feature Away From Basic Membership

frank — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:55:31 +0000

I have been using Biznik for a while and have been pleased with their features and the community they have built. Changes they have made to the site and services have been well thought out and fair to the users until the latest one that took away the ability to see who has viewed your profile. It had been a feature that was available to all members, even the basic free membership since day one, but they decided to take it away in order to drive basic members to upgrade to a paid membership. It stirred up some criticism with many different viewpoints ranging from features should never be taken away to businesses can change features offered anytime in order to be profitable. One interesting and important point was that taking away a feature that helps both paying and non-paying members connect is always a bad thing as it takes away from the building of a community. Since the community is the value brought forth by Biznik, they are in fact lowering their value proposition to all members by taking this feature away. I am sure it was a difficult decision for them as they must try to increase revenue to keep afloat but in doing so, might hinder their value hence stifling growth. A rough estimate of their current annual revenue is $77,000. Certainly just squeaking by with three people working and technology costs.

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Web Startup Taking Feature Away From Basic Membership