"Most platforms are still stuck in a mindset that treats users like ATMs, squeezing every last drop of value through interruptive ads, upsells, and bait-and-switch tactics. It's lazy, short-term thinking, and it's killing loyalty, destroying brand equity, and stunting real growth. Rewards platforms have long been dismissed as gimmicks. "Get a coffee for clicking here" or "watch an ad, earn a buck.""
"We've seen what happens when platforms forget who they serve. Snapchat's infamous redesign led to a $1.3 billion drop in market value overnight. Why? Because users smelled what it was: a cynical ploy to cram in more ads, regardless of the experience. The backlash wasn't subtle. Over one million users signed a petition demanding a rollback. That wasn't just a bad PR day. It was a warning shot."
Monetization models that treat users as ATMs prioritize short-term revenue and erode loyalty, brand equity, and growth. Rewards platforms can become shared-value ecosystems that flip revenue logic: giving value to users fuels profit rather than erodes it. Business models based on user extraction are unsustainable and threaten longevity. Examples show backlash when platforms prioritize ads over experience, such as Snapchat's redesign causing a $1.3 billion market-value loss and over one million users petitioning for a rollback. Sustainable platform monetization requires delivering experiences that benefit users, advertisers, and platforms simultaneously, exemplified by personalized features like Spotify's Discover Weekly.
Read at Fast Company
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