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Is it possible that you now (like most consumers) have been conditioned to expect apps to be free? Meanwhile, nobody expects anyone to give them a pizza or a beer for free.

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I guess you've never gone to university then, because those places don't function without free pizza. It is the only reliable way to get students (and postdocs) to attend your event.

(Yes, I'm aware that attendance is the "price" for the pizza, but let's just say that cold pizza can still be had for free.)

While that's an interesting edge case, what I probably should have said is that pizza and beer is something adults expect to exchange money for, as opposed to apps.

Those two cater needs of different levels on Maslow's hierarchy. People don't have to pay for air and sometimes even for (clean enough) water, but if they'll have to they will pay for that before paying for some $5 digital artifact.

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