Why is the Low Carb programme No Longer Free?

[bulkbiker]

On my iphone it's in the apple app store under "low carb program". I would guess it will be in Google play for Android.

 

[HICHAM_T2]

Hi 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.

OK good Luke

 

[Concordjan]

The low carb program was my first introduction to lchf. Didn't receive any advice from doctors etc about carbs. But probably wouldn't have looked at the program if I had to pay £30 up front as no idea what it was all about. I think it is disgraceful that there is now a charge.

 

[bulkbiker]

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?

 

[Concordjan]

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.

 

[Grateful]

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.

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).

 

[serenity648]

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.

 

[Grateful]

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.

Yes I know. I was responding to someone who was criticizing the existence of a charge.

I happen to agree with you that it was rolled out in a clumsy way. I still see references to the "free app" in several places!

 

[Concordjan]

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).

Perhaps disgraceful was not a good choice, but I do think it a real pity that people will miss out because of the charge. There must surely be another way. The program has already been developed and was rolled out for free. For many years I was ignorant of the relevance of carbs, simply followed nhs guidelines. I doubl if I would have signed up to the low carb program, not that I begrudge the payment but would probably thought it was just someone else trying to make money out of other people's misfortune.

 

[ringi]

DietDoctor has a system when the basic content is given away for free, including everything people need to know so as to understand low carb, but they charge a subscription for their video interviews etc.

 

[Boo1979]

That seems a better system to me and one that sits more comfortably with the requests for forum members to beta test the low carb programme, presumably, and understadably, for free

 

[serenity648]

@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.?

 

[DCUKMod]

@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.?

Hi Serenity - I'll chase that up for you now, but the techies aren't likely to pick it up before Monday.

 

[Simon84]

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?

There is a wealth of free low carb information on the internet via websites,blogs,forums that don't run for profit etc,Why pay? Just a thought.

 

[andcol]

@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.?

Hi serenity
We mods have the same access to the low carb programme content as you do. I also would need to pay for it now as I never signed up for it at earlier times. We only moderate the forum and have no access to the content on the rest of the diabetes.co.uk website; you will need to take this up with administrator. We can forward on your concerns and DCUKMod has stated she will do.

edit changed know to no

 

[Administrator]

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.

 

[lucylocket61]

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.

Ok, I get why you are charging. But still no info on the Home page about a charge? No info anywhere about a charge until the sign up form is completed and submitted? Thats bothering me. Whats happening about that? The privacy policy says you can use the data collected, even if the person then decides not to go ahead and pay and backs off.

 

[ringi]

It also concerns me that charging results in more “self-selection” and hence the collected data does not give as strong a case for all GP to advice “low carb”.

 

[Kingmob]

Disappointed this wasn't made clear in the invite I received in early October. I didn't sign up then as I wanted to find my feet first and seems I've missed the cut-off. The money isn't an issue, I'd had have happily made a donation but no mention of a fee when signing up, people still with signatures stating it's free and no information about what is included is a major turnoff.

 

[Mark_1]

I didn’t think the information given particularly the way it was drip fed was worth paying for. I would be very disappointed if I had done so.