I nominate this page for today's Most Superfluous Use of Stock Photography award.

Indeed. Usually I scroll straight past stock photos so they don't appear on my screen for very long, but in this article they're spaced about three hundred pixels apart so you can't possibly avoid having at least two of 'em onscreen at once.

If I were reading this at work, everybody would think I was planning a wedding.

Jesus, it seems like everything in a startup is like dating.

Finding a co-founder is like dating. Finding an investor is like dating. Being an entrepreneur is like dating.

Now, Freemium Models?

I'm kinda sick of the dating analogy personally.

Don't worry, soon the stylistic tides will turn and the analogy will be war/raising kids/making the perfect turkey sandwich instead of dating, and the articles will flow just as freely.

Flawed analogy. I don't often pay for premium features then stop visiting a site!

Where do you see that?

> "At the end of the day, a paid member of a freemium service is often more involved than the free account holders. He or she might log in much more often and begin to make full use of the new features..."

Martell is saying that if you are paying for the premium, you will visit the site.

Right. Which is why the analogy is flawed.

If you are paying for the premium, you will visit the site. If you have sex with someone you have been dating, you may choose to move on to date other people.

Get it?

You missed the joke.

Wow, Dan's linkbait shows up here on HN. Never thought I'd see the day. Well played, Martell, wherever you are.

So what would be the startup equivalent of meeting someone on craigslist?