FlightAware started out free because we (FA staff) didn’t want to pay for flight tracking.
FlightAware will remain free because we (FA staff and users) have proven that the free model works and is immensely popular.
When we first started up, we recieved quite a few calls from people who thought we were running some sort of trick to get them hooked on flight tracking, and would make it a pay service in the future. Those calls seem to have mostly died down now.
Think about how much money the networks make selling 30 second ads for $2+ million for the Super Bowl. It’s air time. Costs to the networks are minimal for that. In the internet world, ads can work two ways. One, they (FA for example) can make money from selling space on here. Two, companies will pay them for the number of hits they receive from users of FA clicking on said ads. From the books I have read on e-commerce, the second is the most prevelant today.
I know that very basic business classes are becoming more and more popular at the high school level. I would suggest, when you can (most are based on grade level), take one.
This is 100% correct. I guess I should have stated that. I was basing it off the assumption of the popularity of FA that the answer I gave was referring to just FA. But, in the grand scheme of this thing we call life, your answer is 100% correct.
On a side note, was the “See this” added as your signatiure? If so, that ROCKS!
No, not a sig (though not a bad idea as it does apply to most postings). It was just easier to link a disclaimer than go through the bother of looking up the startup failure rate. This I leave as an exercise for the reader.