While it’s specifically about Adobe’s mobile Flash, Michael Mace’s analysis applies to any technology platform and its accompanying business ecosystem. Google, Facebook, Twitter, et al. can take lessons from mobile Flash’s failure. Mace links to Erica Ogg’s piece on some of the failure’s why’s, but he says these are more symptoms than causes. He warns against trying to charge explicitly for formerly free technologies. It’s better to build ancillary products and services that cost. And he shows that Adobe’s organizational structure practically forced Flash to start charging. Google and Facebook don’t appear to be making these kinds of mistakes. Twitter has come perilously close once or twice, however.
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