yesterday, i recieved an e-mail from edsamail saying that their services are no longer free. it was not a surprising step-- recently they offered value-added packages for a fee. but then, asking for payment for the use of their services is contrary to their slogan "Because it's a free world." Oh c'mon.



edsamail actually revolutionized e-mailing for Filipinos. their installation cd's were distributed all over Metro Manila and almost all of the people i know once had an @edsamail.com.ph addy. its free dial-up access also made it more popular than web-based email. i believe that a chunk of the technological awareness of a lot of people can be attributed to the popularity of edsamail.



i really can't help but think, "was their offer of free services before have a pure intention? or is it also just a part of a giant marketing scheme?" now that more and more Filipinos have become dependent on Edsamail for their e-mailing needs, which if i may say was primarily because it was free, they ask for a fee. they say it's because of the financial crisis and the region's economic situation, but is it? personally, i believe that even if the inflation rate was down and the country was economically stable, edsamail would find reasons to charge their users.



i just wish they could have forewarned the people, or better yet, confess that it's not really because of the economy that they're charging us. they never should have used their slogan "it's a free world," because when it comes down to it, everyone wants something in exchange of something else. very few people have pure intentions -- and i don't think the edsamail tycoons are among them.



but then again, it's just me.