OK good LukeHi there.
Whilst it's very flattering that folks think I'm part of the decision-making group or the team working out any commercials, I'm actually not. However I will mention that organisation to the relevant people when next in contact with them.
Really? why?I think it is disgraceful that there is now a charge
Really? why?
This site isn't a charity and to my knowledge has never claimed to be..
Do you think that the Low Carb Program isn't worth what people spend for a month on their phone?
I don't spend anywhere near that for a month on my phone! The low carb program may be worth it but people won't know. I believe a lot would be put off signing up, which is a great shame as it can be very beneficial.
I repeat, my problem is not that a charge is now being made. It is that the charge is not clearly visible on the front, or even third page of the website, but is only visible once one has tried to sign up.
Speaking as someone who has done software development and website design: I think people sometimes underestimate the huge number of hours, and expertise, that can go into that stuff. Often, the simpler it looks and the easier it is to use, the harder it was to design.
There is a common expectation nowadays that everything on the Internet (or downloaded from the Internet) should be free. It is true that charging for such products has become harder and harder, leaving advertisement-based or charity/government-funded content as the only products that pay for themselves (as it were).
You could possibly argue that diabetes.co.uk made a mistake when deciding to charge for the app, and that they should have continued to "give it away" for any number of commercial/altruistic reasons. That's a whole other discussion.
"Disgraceful" is not how I would describe it though, unless this site were a charity or a government-run operation (and even then, there would be arguments on both sides).
@DCUKMod I still cant sign in for free. No pm received. Any ideas?
and when are you Mods going to put something up that clearly tells people, right from the outset, that there is a cost to sign up for this, before they have given you their email address etc.?
Really? why?
This site isn't a charity and to my knowledge has never claimed to be..
Do you think that the Low Carb Program isn't worth what people spend for a month on their phone?
Hi serenity@DCUKMod I still cant sign in for free. No pm received. Any ideas?
and when are you Mods going to put something up that clearly tells people, right from the outset, that there is a cost to sign up for this, before they have given you their email address etc.?
Thanks for the question - it's a pertintent one.
The Low Carb Program was launched just under 2 years ago – and what a journey it’s been. Over 265,000 people have joined the program, from over 219 countries. We’re proud to see the impact this is having on thousands of peoples’ lives. It has helped push the envelope of type 2 diabetes remission on a global scale - and is redefining the concept of chronic conditions and wellness.
When we launched the program, we wanted to make sure it was free on the basis this was a relatively new approach to diabetes management. We required sufficient amounts of data to not only optimise the program, but to influence the clinical and academic communities about the validity of this approach. In addition, we have invested substantially in developing the program further – localising for communities to improve health outcomes and in the technology and architecture to welcome thousands of people each day.
It’s always been our ambition to keep the Low Carb Program completely marketing free. In order to sustain this approach, we needed to implement a minimal charge, which we decided to do when we reached 250,000 people. The decision was considered. We felt that the price point was a fair price to pay, based on the tremendous impact the program has on a person’s health. Compared to other education, services and management tools, I'm sure you'll agree the Low Carb Program is very good value for money. All users who joined before the payment gateway was installed continue to receive free access and support.
As a sidenote, social research goes to demonstrate that when an individual pays for something, their propsenity to engage is far greater as there is a value attributed to the product/service at hand. Looking at the data, this is certainly the case since the implementation of the payment gatway.
We hope this clarifies the situation and are as ever, grateful for the community's support in optimising global health.