June 1, 2013
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People Think They Are Entitled To Free Stuff
I have actually been meaning to do this post for a while now, but it seems very appropriate given some things that are going on now.
Being frugal, to a degree, is a good thing. More and more, though, a lot of people are going to great lengths to get things while paying a fraction of what they are worth. They are all about getting a great bargain. The ultimate is if they can get something at no cost to themselves. Extreme couponing is a big thing right now. I have seen a show which said that people’s expectation of always getting a deep discount is hurting retail business, and our economy as a whole is suffering.
I worked n the 2012 tourist season at a resort that included a large amusement park with water attractions and “dry rides”, meaning go karts and other rides, and also offered games customers could play and sold food and beverages.
The owners owned or controlled a number of hotels. Anyone who stayed at those got access to the amusement park and waterpark facilities included. A one-night stay included two days use of the facilities. People not staying at those places could also come, and it was pretty easy to get “free” basic passes which included access to the waterpark. There was a fairly small charge to upgrade to a pass that gave access to the go karts and most other rides. A few extreme rides were available for a separate charge.
For customers not staying at the resort, during the season, from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day, there was a $10 charge for parking.
Many people got FURIOUS at the idea that they had to pay to park. I saw a number of people come in with FREE passes to the waterpark valued at over $100, who cursed and left without going to the waterpark, saying it was “bullshit” that they should have to pay to park. Many of those who did use their free passes did not upgrade their passes, brought their own food which they went to their car to eat, and spent no money the entire day.
Let me tell you a secret. There is NO SUCH THING as FREE STUFF!!! When you drive to MacDonald’s, or any other restaurant, the cost of parking in their parking lot is figured in to the price of your food. Anything that is given at no charge to you still costs everybody else that pays to eat there. Even promotional items that are given away are not free. They are a business expense, and their purpose is to get more people to do business with that company, and bring in more profit.
Xanga’s basic service has been free as long as I have been around here. I have seen through the years where several people who had “basic” Xanga thought “PREMIUM” should be free. I see there is talk that Xanga may go under, or need to start charging people to use it. I have been paying for PREMIUM for several years. People are furious, though, at the thought that they should be asked to pay, and many are saying they will go elsewhere instead. I think that is a shame. Personally, I have not seen another online site that achieved the sense of community Xanga has. I use facebook regularly, but I don’t get anything approaching the level of traffic and interaction I get on Xanga. I also have a couple of other sites I rarely use, because traffic and comments are pretty much non-existent.
Comments (32)
Well, WHY pay for it when you can it free elsewhere? I like premium, in fact I am using it right now and have at various times in the past. I like that it is OPTIONAL to use the site with or without it. I think demanding people pay to be able to blog is a bit insane considering all the free options out there. It just isn’t good business sense.
i personally don’t think that i’m entitled to free stuff… but i do enjoy them, and prefer free stuff… but who doesn’t..
as for blogging platform etc, even if it is free for us to use, i’m not under the illusion that they are actually free, just that it is normally paid for by other means (advertizing etc).. and yeah, like most people, i do prefer the service i enjoy are being paid for by other means, or other people.. just like the subsidized rent i’m enjoying, i know it is actually from the pockets of others that paid for it through taxes..
on the other hand, i don’t mind to spend, too, for things that i think to be worth it.. and to be totally honest, i wouldn’t mind to pay for things like xanga, but unfortunately because the currency of my country makes it to be quite substancial sum (i think 1 US dollar is something like 3 to 4 bucks in my currency) for myself..
I’m not annoyed at the idea of paying for a service. But I think it’s silly to expect people to pay for something that others offer for free. In your water park example, if other nearby parks HAD free parking, it’s likely a park that charged would see less customers, unless they had some other amazing feature that made it worth it. Same thing with xanga. Why pay for basic features that literally dozens of other blog sites offer for free? I haven’t gotten an answer to that from The Team or any of the users.
Paying for a blog is something that isn’t in everyone’s budget. It’s definitely not in mine. If the fundraiser actually works and they move to a paid platform, I won’t be able to follow. The fact that paid services has been optional for the last twelve years and is suddenly being demanded of us is why people are so angry.
@chronic_masticator - @leaflesstree - @maniacsicko - @spicycajun - I appreciate you reading, and I see the point some people make. If money is the only consideration, it’s true that it makes sense to switch to another site, which doesn’t charge to blog there. That said, I disagree to a point. I have not seen another online site that achieved the sense of community Xanga has. I use facebook regularly, but I don’t get anything approaching the level of traffic and interaction I get on Xanga. I also have a couple of other sites I rarely use, because traffic and comments are pretty much non-existent.
I hope we can keep in touch if Xanga does fold. Best of luck, whatever comes.
I don’t think I’m entitled to free things. I pay for premium normally, though this last time I had enough credits that I was able to get six months with credits. Having a basic free membership is a good thing though because not everyone can afford to pay. But having their presence alone on a blogging community site -helps- Xanga. Without people, Xanga would disappear. In a way, spending your time on Xanga and promoting Xanga is a way of making a donation (from my perspective). And it is hard for poorer folks to justify the price hike for the new Xanga when they can go to another blogging site for free.
I don’t think your example of the resort fits what is happening to Xanga exactly. Though I do agree in a lot of things, people too often feel entitled to ‘free’ things.
I think the idea that xanga sprung this on us six weeks in advance says to me that xanga was looking for people to pay their membership fees up until the end. If xanga can’t run an ultimately free business, like tumblr and facebook can, then that’s on them, not on me. I look at their ads, so I am paying to park in their parking lot. If I didn’t want to see their ads, I would move a blog that I pay for the domain name. That’s how sites pay for a free site. Ads. If they can’t do that, then it’s not my problem. If they can’t promote and change and have new inventive ideas to keep their site going and making money, that’s not on me. I don’t expect it to be free. I deal with ads to look at their site. Hell I even click on their ads sometimes.
I couldn’t agree more in principle. I’ve read quite a lot from people who seem to be enraged that free blogging at Xanga may no longer be available, Frankly, HOW DARE THEY, as though they were entitled to anything at all from these good people who worked to make it possible for them to run their mouths at Xanga’s expense! The folks at Xanga have given us an opportunity to express ourselves, to meet new people and cultivate friendships, and they’ve been willing to do it from the start without taking a single penny for it.
On the other hand, I have never paid for premium membership even though I could have if I’d chosen to. I don’t feel entitled to anything at all, not even what little stuff I now “own”, so I surely don’t think I’m entitled to anything for free! But when something is legally and morally offered both for free or for sale, it only makes sense to me to get it for free. No matter how I sliced it, I couldn’t find a way to justify the expenditure when I see so much desperate need all around me. Of what I have I am steward, not owner, and I thought there were better ways to serve my Master with the stuff he’s entrusted to me.
Peace to you my friend. I’ve enjoyed our infrequent conversations and much of your output. I’d love to exchange contact info if you’re at all interested, please let me know if so!
- Tony G
Yup!
I mean, it’s $48 a year. that’s not that bad. that’s one less fast food meal a month. That’s one less coffee at starbucks a month.
But everyone has their priorties and some wouldn’t find blogging here to be one of them, so to each his own. I think the community that has been built here is WORTH the money. So yeah. If it sticks around, I’m more than willing to fork over $48 a year. A YEAR. It’s not like it’s monthly or something. Good grief.
Yeah! What Meagbyyte said! ^^^
I paid for life time and only got a few years out of it. I paid for more photo storage but the tools for organizing them is pretty bad, oh and it didn’t even work for the last few months.
I Love Xanga, but I have little faith it’ll be managed well. Also, with no free blogs, a lot of the people I interact with simply won’t be on Xanga, even if I pay again beyond what I paid for lifetime.
I’ve paid premium for several years. I think the joy I get from interacting in this community is worth the money, even though I, as well, have stopped using their image hosting, b/c I found it easier to post to Flickr then link the picture. I go through periods where I find myself seldom posting, but I still check up on the blogs I like to read. I am probably a little better off than some other Xangans, but considering the cost is only going to be four bucks a month, I’ll gladly give up a burger and fries once a month to keep this community around as long as they manage to keep the atmosphere similar. The easy commenting is the big deal for me, and unless they eliminate that, I’ll ante up and stick around.
As was stated by others, trying to create a fee model in the face of all the free competition is going to be hard to achieve success with.
I also agree with you that xanga offers a level of community that is unmatched – but therein lies the conundrum- why isn’t Xanga able to market that effectively so that they would get enough users to pay for basic services through advertising? And how do they expect to attract new users with a paywall when there are so many free options? New folks won’t know what they would be missing. Its seems the bigger problem lies with managing the product rather than the product itself.
Interesting point you have there, but people in general don’t like to pay more than ‘they should’. It’s not really about we HAVE to get things free.
@Megabyyte - It costs less than paying internet fees, I’ll say.
yep- capitalism in a nutshell. Companies must bring a reward to survive and continue to provide. No matter how good intentions there will always be a need for ” greed” until Christ comes.
I will pay for a year or two definitely because Xanga is worth it to me! I think I love it way too much to just let it go. I am not sure it will be the same, but I will do my share & I’ll be here till the end! I remember reading your blogs too. Thank you :’)
Excellently said, and I love Megabyyte’s comment.
1. if a business is pissed off that customers are taking advantage of free stuff, they shouldn’t offer it. i’d be pissed off about $10 parking because maintaining a place to park probably doesn’t justify that cost. in reality, they’re charging for parking to cover other expenses they incur elsewhere. that’s a dumb business decision. i prefer businesses who are honest about their costs and don’t try to overcharge in one area to make up for losses in another.
if i’m not planning to eat inside an amusement park, how is it fair to me as a customer to overcharge me for parking to make up for that fact? wouldn’t it make more sense to either ban outside food and beverages, or improve the quality of the food being served so i’d actually want to eat it?? the same thing is happening with movie theaters: they’re increasing the price of tickets to make up for the fact that it’s now cheaper to just get Netflix and be patient a few months for a film to become available for streaming. but increasing the price isn’t going to bring customers back. if anything, it’s driving people further away.
2. xanga, to me, is not worth any money. there are, in my opinion, better blog sites out there for free. and for just a little more money, i could go ahead and buy my own domain name, design my own site, utilize some ads, etc. compared to other blogging formats, xanga is very elementary. i started off here as a high school kid, and i don’t feel like much has changed. if i have to pay money to blog, i want something of more value.
The people willing to pay, aren’t paying to blog, they’re supporting the community. That’s what it’s come down to here. If it wasn’t for that, no one would blog here.
I’m fine with paying $10 to park at an amusement park.
I’m less fine with paying $10 to park at a huge field of grass in the suburbs with a baseball diamond and two porta-potties in the corner. There are an abundance of those, and you can usually park at them for free.
If I had a huge field of grass and all the cool people were there, I’d start charging people $10 to park there. And if they asked why, I’d say, “Because you are paying to be among cool people.”
That would suck though if everyone got smart and just went to an identical park where they can park for free. I’d have to make my park way different from the others for people to actually want to pay money to be there.
I’m relocating to WordPress; which is essentially what “Xanga 2.0″ is going to be. The difference? Basic WordPress is free, unless you choose to pay for the premium upgrade (which I likely will in a month or so). If Xanga were just asking people to buy premium in order to support this transition, I’d probably feel differently about it. But, in order to do what I’ll be able to do when I buy premium at WP on Xanga, I would have to sign up for the $48/year and then face the possibility of having to purchase a premium service on top of that; which if it’s powered by WP, will likely cost the same $99/year. If I can buy a dress for $99 at one store, why am I going to buy that exact same dress at another store for $147? I’m not a cheap bastard, just a smart consumer.
@Megabyyte - When you can’t even afford to feed yourself, $48 a year is a lot of money. Don’t assume everyone here is in the same or a better income bracket as you are.
@chronic_masticator - Um, believe me. I’m not any better off than most people on here. I’m about as poor as a lot of other people are. I can’t even afford that right this second, this week, etc. That’s why I’m trying to get creative. And still in the long run, I would try and make it work. But like i did say, I know that’s not in everyone’s priorities, so to each his own. i’m not assuming anything about anyone.
@Megabyyte - No, what you said was “I mean, it’s $48 a year. that’s not that bad. that’s one less fast food meal a month. That’s one less coffee at starbucks a month,” as though everyone has $48 just laying around, or indulges in takeout and expensive coffee daily.
If Xanga charges, I’ll just leave. Not because I’m greedy or entitled, but because I don’t use this as often as I used to and even when I used it a lot, it’s not something I would pay for. If McDonald’s started charging separate for parking, then I wouldn’t eat there or I’d park elsewhere and walk in. Also, places like McDonald’s don’t factor in the cost of their parking lot in their food, they are locked by the franchise agreement for what they can charge for their food (min and max) in an area. They make their money by selling a crap ton of items at a lower price, as opposed to less items at a higher price.
Xanga is great with the basic service and I never felt the need to “upgrade” to their Premium service. Seemed really pointless. If Xanga starts to charge for simply blogging, then this place will take a huge dive. Those who stick around can sit around feeling as smug as they want for “being better” than the rest of us if they want. MySpace, Facebook? They offer the service free of charge and have been paying for it with ads and small amounts of donations for a very long time now. There are already ads on Xanga.
If the amount of money Xanga is collecting isn’t enough, then the community and visitors to the sites just isn’t as big as people like to think. OpenDiary is a terrible, terrible place, but it’s still free.
@chronic_masticator - Oookay. Well, I stand by what I said. I, personally, don’t think it’s that bad. And those were just two examples I used. I’m sure there are other ones or better ones to use. I don’t even indulge in starbucks monthly, lol, I was just saying! Again, though, it is a priority thing. And I know not everyone’s priority is going to be a blogging site, so I don’t blame people for not wanting to pay for it.
@Sunrie - I’m surprised you know about Open Diary. No one else on here knows what it is lol
But I was thinking the same thing. Open Diary has a small userbase like Xanga, has been around longer than Xanga and is still free.
I don’t often get around to actually commenting, but I do read your blog entries regularly. I appreciate your opinions, as well as your courage to share them. There is much wisdom to be shared in a simple sentence or telling of a life event.
I agree that many individuals feel entitled to much of what is out there today. Working with the public, you see entirely too many people who think they not only deserve free things, but they are indeed owed them. I do not feel entitled to anything in life. Perhaps there was a time when I felt I may have deserved a little special treatment, but it was something that never occurred so I do not in the least expect good things. What good things do happen tend to end all too quickly and I try not to get attached to such airy feelings of wholesome kindness when it comes my way. That said, I’m going to miss how Xanga was—the Xanga I grew up with, the goodness it held, is coming to an end and I do not have the financial means to help them upgrade, let alone use the service if the required funds are met and an upgrade succeeds.
I said I try not to get attached… I am not always successful, and Xanga will always be a very special (and now sore) place in my heart.
I Never ever found such edifying blogs.
Freebies
The complete blogs are really inconceivable and definitely everyone will share this information.
Free Samples
It is still free to express your opinion. But not much longer at this site. If you wanted to do a real service, you could have told people where those free sites are. Xanga is just a place to write for me and I need to find another one. F*ck the community aspect.