Citations:phooey


 * 2018, Zeynep Tufekci, Yes, Big Platforms Could Change Their Business Models, Wired.com (17 December 2018);
 * There’s simply no plausible alternative, the platforms say. People will never pay to use platforms, we are told. Plus, dissidents and activists in the developing world rely on these free services to get their word out. How can we abandon them? And anyway, the platforms say, we can’t provide the fundamental features that our users value without all this data collection. It’s simply too late to change.


 * I say to all this: phooey, phooey, and phooey.


 * First, people all over the world pay for communication services. We regularly pony up for Netflix, HBO Go, and Amazon Prime on top of sizable monthly payments for cell phone plans.