FeedDemon by Subscription?

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UPDATE: Based on your comments about this post, we've changed our mind.

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Shortly after I was acquired by NewsGator, customers started asking whether FeedDemon would switch to a subscription model. At the time we were still ironing out the details, but we've decided now: FeedDemon (but not TopStyle) will become subscription-based software.

The rational behind moving to a subscription model can be found in this post from Greg Reinacker, which explains how the subscription model actually works out cheaper (especially for existing FeedDemon customers, who get two years of free upgrades). However, "subscription-based software" is a phrase that causes some people to recoil in horror, so I'm curious how FeedDemon users will react to the news.

My own reaction when the idea was first proposed was, "No way!" The subscription model never appealed to me because of ownership - I own the data that my software uses, and I don't want to be locked out of it. So let me clarify that this will not be the case with FeedDemon. If down the road you let your subscription expire, you'll still be able to export your channels, watches and news bins from FeedDemon. That's your data, so you won't be locked out of it.

That was my only real roadblock to accepting the subscription model - once I realized that "subscription" doesn't equal "loss of ownership," I was fine with the idea. And for a company like NewsGator, which offers several products that tie into the same server-side piece, a subscription model actually makes sense. You're paying for a service, and that service includes several software options so you can choose how you'd like to access the service. Fair enough, IMO.

But I realize that you may have other concerns about this move, and I'd like to hear about them. What is your reaction to a subscription-based FeedDemon, and what can we do to address any of your concerns?

PS: For some reason, this is one of those topics that brings out the flamers and trolls, so I have to ask that you be thoughtful and respectful when commenting here. Thanks!

Comments

[Jeremy Hartley]

I think it all boils down to cost. I don't think I have a problem with paying a subscription as long as the service I get seems worth what I pay. Since I read RSS at work and home quite a lot and don't have a laptop, which means I have two different computers, having a service that keeps this all synchronised would be fantastic. This is something I would be willing to pay for.

[Roy]

To be frank my initial reaction is one of disappointment. Thanks to the generous 2 year free upgrade for current users of FeedDemon I have plenty of time to evaulate the service and look at alternatives that may come along. I really like FeedDemon so I'll give it a fair chance over the next couple of years.

[Tjarko Rikkerink]

I totally agree with Jeremy.. it's all about cost. I bought Feeddemon 1.5 year ago and that set my back 25 dollars.. a real bargain if you ask me.. and as long that the costs are nog more then say about 10 dollars a year I have no problem at all with paying for a subscription. When the costs do get more then that i'll switch to a free solution.. or the benefits and features that Feeddemon will offer would be unbeatable... like getting your feeddemon installations at home and at work to sync with eachother ;-) just a tip....

[Nick Bradbury]

Roy, could you let me know why your initial reaction is one of disappointment? What is it about the subscription model that bothers you?

[christopher parks]

Working in IT web-services myself, I certainly understand the compelling business-drivers of the subscription model. Most likely, the biggest concern you will face is from users like myself (I JUST bought Feeddemon 2 weeks ago)that pose the question of... "ok, I just pre-paid my subscription (by virtue of buying/downloading the $26 software license), am I covered for the next year's worth of service?? How and when is the cut-off for pre-subscriber to be grand-fathered in? And how long are they covered.

My company faced the same issues and it typically boils down to:
- fair warning;
- timely, broad, and empathetic customer communication & transition plans;
- and adding features/service value that encourages customers to suscribe b/c they want the additional "new stuff" coming down the pike

Just some questions (grand-fathering) and thoughts from someone who went down the path that ultimately went well for the company and user-base.

Christopher

[Peter]

In this case I think there is a distinction between the software and the service. Personally, I see the FeedDemon software as something I paid for and should be able to use as long as I want, since you aren't providing the feeds. The synchronization is the service and that I'm OK with paying for as long as the price is reasonable. If for some reason I decided I don't need the synchronization I should be able to continue to use the standalone software I paid for. I may not get updates or fixes, but the existing version shouldn't stop working.
Now of course if you want to consider the standalone software as part of the service, then that's a whole different story and that needs to be explained very clearly to people as that is not a typical experience for most users.
The problem with Greg's math is that not everyone upgrades every time a new version is available. If you only pay for every other upgrade then the costs change significantly.
All that being said, FD is a product I would pay for since it is a fabulous product and provides me with a lot of value.

[Nick Hoddinott]

Nick, I actually welcome the idea of a subscription based feed service.

I really would like to see the *basics* in FeedDemon though, such tree navigation of all feeds and an update all feeds every so often feature, rather than a group. These currently stop me from using FeedDemon. (Even just an 'update all groups or the selected group' option would do).

Once the basics are there, the subscription service would make it fantastic package. Looking forward to it very much.

[Rijk]

Two years might look like a long time at first, but I don't like it if software stops working after some time. Will

What if FD 2 (or 3 or 4 etc) requires a new operating system, etc. Or if I don't want to spend more money, but would like to continue using an old version that works OK. For me to keep using subscription software, it has to be either rather cheap, or very useful and important.

This is not just about the right to access my own data (though that is important as well), but also the right to continue working with 'what I have' indefinitely. If Windows 98 had been subscription based, that old PC right next to my new one would be a useless lump of metal now.

[Nick Bradbury]

Nick, you'll be happy to hear that the upcoming FeedDemon 1.6 will update feeds in inactive groups.

[Steve]

It's been well over a year since I bought FeedDeamon, so I may be wrong on this point, but I seem to recall that there was a promise of no-cost upgrades for life.

If this is the case, then for those of us who have already purchased FD, and expect no-cost upgrades, then isn't the two year "free" subscription going to work out more expensive in the long run?

Granted, we're not talking huge money here, but still...

I always feel in situations such as these (Company A being acquired by Company B), that existing customers of Company A should have AT LEAST as good terms under Company B as they did under Company A. I'm not convinced that that's the case here.

[Evan]

Peter is right on. For many people, the issue will be wrapping their mind around not being able to keep using "software" that they "bought".

While the company sees the issue as selling FeedDemon as a service, the average person will struggle with that concept because they are so used to the purchase/retail model. I've seen this struggle with people trying to figure out the subscription music services.

I think the feeling is that with this model, they're "throwing their money away" because after the subscription is up, they don't come away with anything, i.e. the software.

This is less an issue with NewsGator, and more with downloadable products like FeedDemon.

[Nick Bradbury]

Steve, I have never promised free upgrades for life.

[Tom Kirby-Green]

My concern about subscription based licencing is that whilst it helps ISVs figure out how much money is coming in over the next quarter it can make them lazy about fixing bugs and adding features. So, so long as FeedDemon is still actively developed, with point releases regularly put out (at least 1 point release per subscription period) then I have no issue with the change. I already have a support contract with Alias for Maya so the concept is not alien.

It would be nice if folks who've just bought FeedDemon got the first years sub for free.

[Greyhawk68]

I agree with Peter. I feel that FeedDemon should continue to work after your subscribtion expires. For me the subscription is basically like maintainence. If there are upgrades to the software you get them. It also entitles you to sync with the web-based services.

If I should choose to let that subscription lapse, I should still be able to keep FeedDemon around in it's current state. I would no longer be able to sync with NewsGator, and I would no longer be entitled to updates to the software, but if I was happy with it in it's current state, I should be able to continue using it.

Nick, I do not mind paying a subscription, and I probably will continue to do so after my two years. BUT, I am disappointed that you would take away the choice of the end user to simply use their software, especially us early adopters who bought a piece of software, NOT a subscription.

There are too many good free aggregators out there now, that forcing a subscription model might hurt FeedDemon in the long run.

I wouldn't mind seeing two choices. A fairly modest subscription cost that FeedDemon would expire if the subscription ended, and a more expensive "standalone" version that someone could buy for say $49 or $59 dollars...

It's all about choice, and to me, when my choices become limited, I tend to look elsewhere...

Take Care,
Grey

[Dick]

I hate subscription software. If I'm renting the software, then I'm constantly evaluating whether I'm getting my money's worth. "How many times did I use FeedDemon this month.", I'll say. I don't want to think about RSS software, but it will be unavoidable under this plan. Subscriptions create mental baggage that I don't want or need. By the way, I know this an irrational view, but you asked. :)

[Giacomo]

As someone who really needs synchronization, I would agree with Peter: subscription might expire, but the software should never stop working. That would be the ideal solution, IMHO. The stance that "you own the data anyway" is a step in the right direction, however.

[Steve Barnett]

I'm a casual user of RSS in general and only bought FeedDemon because of Nick's reputation and my experience with TopStyle. Previously I had a free package that was adequate for my needs.

I now feel desperately let down.

The cost benefit I saw seems to rely on having FeedDemon and some other NewsGator product. What if I have no use for that other product? Then the cost benefit doesn't work.

Equally, my experience of subscription services is that the subscription cost rapidly goes up... when that happens, what choice do I have? I can't continue to use the software that I've invested in for a number of years, so I just have to continue to pay or write off my investment.

I took a long time over deciding to buy FeedDemon and now feel that I've made a very bad decision.

Steve

[David Robertson]

I've got no issues with the subscription model, even though I have no plans to use the online or synchronization services. I'm a one-computer (laptop), FeedDemon user, and I'm happy to pay for someone (Nick) to keep that program updated, bug-fixed, etc.

My only concern about this is the details: How will we (old FeedDemon customers) get converted to a subscription? How do we get our business account?

IMHO, how those details are handled will help determine if this is, or is not, a successful transition.

Thanks.
_david

[John Carpenter]

Like Steve, I was a TopStyle customer that bought FeedDemon because of Nick's reputation and because it seemed like a decent piece of software.

I don't like the subscription model because I like to buy a piece of software, not rent it. I purchased FD because it was a cheap low-risk once-off application. As a new customer, I could put up with a small once-off, but would never accept a subscription model. Particularly not when there are plenty of free RSS aggregators around.

I think a aubscription model is asking for more trust from the customer. I trust Nick because of past experience. I wouldn't trust a company called NewsGator simply because of the "Gator" connection. (Even though the only connection is in the name)

The only subscription service I've signed up for is Digiguide - but I am paying for continually new data to be provided for me. FD does not supply any of the data it gives me, so in my mind a aubscription model does not make sense.

But I'm not a normal FD customer, in that I actually ended up using Opera 8 for my RSS needs because it's simpler and is integrated into an application I already use every day. For me, FD is just a bit overkill for my needs anyway. So, someone that uses it and gets the full benefit from it might well be a little more willing to accept this kind of thing.

Also, free upgrades for 2 years doesn't seem like a great deal. I'd rather received no new updates and have an application that isn't going to expire on me. (Which is what I'll do if this is introduced.)

As a side note, presumably changing to a subscription model will put more pressure on Nick to keep updating FD because it's important for it to continually evolve in order to keep the value for the existing customers. IE if you were forced into a subscription model you would expect to get a regular supply of updates as you are paying every month/year/whatever for the software alone.

So this makes me wonder if TopStyle is going to disappear even further into obscurity? It's been quite obvious recently that FD is updated all the time and by contrast it takes forever to progress through very minor TopStyle maintenance releases.

Sorry, Nick, but for me - probably someone in the minority - I am sad to see the introduction of this.

[John Carpenter]

One other thing... if the new version of IE includes support for RSS out of the box, as it sounds like it will, is it not going to be even more difficult to persuade users to subscribe?

[James Fee]

First, RSS support in Firefox and IE7 is totallly different than how products such as FeedDemon work. If you don't understand the difference, then FeedDemon isn't for you.

I personally have no problem with subscriptions. Three or four software packages I currently use are based upon the subscription model and in the real world, there is no difference as far as I can tell.

Nick, can we expect FeedDemon 1.5 to be outside the subscription model? Seems like everyone who isn't happy with the subsciption can just keep using FD 1.5, right?

[James Fee]

First, RSS support in Firefox and IE7 is totallly different than how products such as FeedDemon work. If you don't understand the difference, then FeedDemon isn't for you.

I personally have no problem with subscriptions. Three or four software packages I currently use are based upon the subscription model and in the real world, there is no difference as far as I can tell.

Nick, can we expect FeedDemon 1.5 to be outside the subscription model? Seems like everyone who isn't happy with the subsciption can just keep using FD 1.5, right?

[Chris]

I, for one, am quite happy with subscription models, if it means I can expect regular updates to software. I like to be on the bleeding edge and if a subscription means I get to see the software continually evolve, I'm all for it.

At such time as you stop improving FeedDemon, though, I personally would hope it would return to a shrink-wrap pricing model.

[Laurens]

The way I see it: you buy software "as is". The vendor has the right to change the licensing at any time, as long as I can keep using the existing versions of the software I paid for. No problem here.

That said, I think most people are not yet comfortable with subscription-based licensing for client software. Mainly because they see a program as a "product" and not so much as a "service". It's much easier to sell a web-based application as a "service", because someone has to keep everything running.

Also, I was kind of surprised that one of the reasons to sell FeedDemon was to use the server-based NewsGator solution as a central repository for your feed data. You can store your cache folder on a removable USB drive and so avoid duplication between multiple computers, can't you?

[John Carpenter]

James, you may be right. I guess IE7 will push RSS into the public and for many people it will give them everything they need. But then those people wouldn't be buying FD anyway.

Well, it slightly depends how IE7 handles it, but I guess you're right.