The problem becomes if you are a service like Youtube, where you already have capture almost the entire customer base.

I mean you gave the right answer imho. Software engineers are just business people whose main tool is coding. You know you're good if you don't reach for the hammer when you don't have a nail.

valuation's are based on future returns, not current returns. If one believes they are growing and visa and mastercard aren't then the valuation might make a little more sense. (though I can't comment on the actualities, only the potentials).

The problem is trust on most sites is attributed to account history, which is cheaper than ever with these reply-guy services. Twitter/Meta verified badges help, but IMHO the only solution is something invite-only like lobsters, where you can easily weed out invite-rings etc...

I would imagine we are going to see a DO price increase soon, given the crazy costs of RAM and now storage. Given the usual life cycle of server hardware, they will need to start preparing their increases for the next cycle.

Grad students are incredibly cheap? In the UK for instance their stipend is £20,780 a year...

These sort of transparent answers are what make oxide and the people behind it such a fantastic company. Thank you for your wonderful contributions to the software and hardware community!

The usage limits on most 20 USD/month subs are becoming quite restrictive though. API pricing is more indicative of true cost.

It's not even that. It's way easier to do R&D when you don't have a customer base to support.

I think your forgetting that governments can just shut a company down, or even worse completely take it over and nationalise it. At the end of the day sovereigns rule over all else. Money means nothing when a gun is pointed at your head.