While I'm not sure who's side I'm on here yet, it struck me that it is extremely hard to define a Google "customer".
I assume one has to pay monies to a company to make themselves a customer. I doubt even 2% of Google users actually pay.
I assume one has to pay monies to a company to make themselves a customer. I doubt even 2% of Google users actually pay.
Would this change the business model of a lot of start ups? You bet it would. But it would change it for the better in the customer's eyes. Maybe the "free tier" becomes the free trial, time-limited. Maybe paid users will no longer subsidize the paid users. Maybe companies will think through their business model a little more and not offer free service for just long enough to get embedded in someone's life then realize they have to shut down for lack of money.
I would love to see a shift from "user" to "customer". You don't have 200,000 users if they're not paying you. You have 200,000 customers and 0 profit.
If you operate a business in germany and have a website you have to have an "impressum". Even most personal sites put up an "impressum" even if they are not required too, just because everyone is scared of the "impressumspflicht".