Gives me an idea for a free trial where you unlock the software every day by sharing on social media. I think a lot of mobile games already do something along these lines to gain extra lives etc.
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Building up on your idea I might actually do that. I have trouble reaching out to new customers and ads are not an option, but maybe I could add a trial version that only becomes available once you shared the app link on some social media. (And of course by sharing I mean you were catapulted to a website of your choice, if you don’t share anything I have no way of knowing)
What I dislike is poisoning of social signals. Sharing something to your social media friends implies you believe it may interest them; doing so in exchange for a reward is an abuse of this mechanism, a violation of trust your friends may have in your posts.
I get that at this point, one app isn't making it much worse, just like farting into a dumpster fire isn't making things significantly worse either. But intent matters. You could say that it's a naively idealistic stance, but then again, the problems of social media weren't caused by a conspiracy of few evil actors - they're caused by hundreds of thousands of small sleazy actors doing their small seedy things.
Marketing people: You didn't see this comment. Move along.