Give And Take Marketing.


I was told yesterday that Yahoo had recently upgraded their messenger service for mac users. Was that person happy? No, because after waiting a long time for this improved version to be offered, he discovered that he would have to upgrade his otherwise perfectly adequate computer in order to use it.

I imagine that would be frustrating enough if he had to continue to use the previous software, but I was then told that while launching the new version, Yahoo had decided to make the original obsolete.

Now my friend is I'm sure in the minority of messenger users, but who knows how sizeable a minority? Compelling a frustrated user to become a non-user unless he is prepared to spend a significant amount of money on a hardware upgrade seems to me to be a very perverse act for a non-hardware company to make. I don't see the upside for them. And I know their former user is intent on ensuring they don't have one.

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