Editing ManyCam

{{ToneWarning}}
ManyCam is a live video streaming software application owned by [[Paltalk]], formerly known as [[AVM Software]].  ManyCam.com describes the application as:

{{quote | [Manycam is] an easy-to-use virtual camera and live streaming software that helps you deliver professional live videos on streaming platforms, video conferencing apps, and remote learning tools.}}

== Controversies ==

=== "Lifetime" Licenses Sold: Bait and Switch ===

Prior to ManyCam's acquisition by [[Paltalk]] in 2022, ManyCam offered "Lifetime" licenses which, for a one time payment, were advertised as including all future versions and upgrades.

The ManyCam website as of March 2022 stated that <q> Any paid ManyCam Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the ManyCam software for free whenever a newer version of ManyCam is released </q> and that <q>ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included</q> <ref name="ManyCam Knowledge Base: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?"> [https://web.archive.org/web/20220317113659/https://help.manycam.com/knowledge-base/manycam-devices-video-sources/ "ManyCam Knowledge Base: Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?"] manycam.com via The Internet Archive </ref>

In June 2022, new owner of ManyCam [[Paltalk]] pushed an update out for customers to upgrade to ManyCam 8.0.0, a version of the software with which the lifetime subscription licenses did not work. <ref name="ManyCam Forum: Activation many cam 8 and many cam lite - 2022-07-05"> [https://web.archive.org/web/20220705084722/https://forum.manycam.com/t/activation-many-cam-8-and-many-cam-lite/6448 "ManyCam Forum: Activation many cam 8 and many cam lite"] manycam.com via The Internet Archive on July 5th, 2022</ref>

To add to the situation, ManyCam 7 was configured by default to notify users of any new versions available for upgrades under the "lifetime" license.
[[File:ManyCam 7 Lifetime Studio notifies of updates by default.png|alt=A screenshot of ManyCam 7 with Lifetime Studio with default settings. The "Notify me about new ManyCam versions" setting is enabled by default.|thumb|A screenshot of ManyCam 7 with Lifetime Studio with default settings.  The "Notify me about new ManyCam versions" setting is enabled by default.]]
Many users followed the usual upgrade path to ManyCam 8, and were unable to activate their "lifetime" license as usual.  One user posted: <ref name="ManyCam Forum: Activation many cam 8 and many cam lite - 2022-07-05" /><blockquote>
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 15, 2022, 3:25am

 I have many cam premium, I downloaded many cam 8.0.0 it’s not allowing me to activate. Also I downloaded many cam lite this is not also activating. In both instance, I login with my email and password. I will be so glad to have this sorted as soon as possible.</blockquote>


Presumably this was not properly communicated with many customers, as many expressed their surprise when their "lifetime" subscription licenses stopped working like they used to.  One customer related their experience on the ManyCam Forums in a thread titled '''"Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8!"''' <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8! - 2022-07-05">[https://web.archive.org/web/20220705095408/https://forum.manycam.com/t/dont-upgrade-to-manycam-8/6440 "ManyCam Forums: Don't Upgrade to ManyCam 8!"] forum.manycam.com via The Internet Archive on July 5th, 2022</ref>

{{Quote box|quote=June 14, 2022, 4:48pm #1

I was testing ManyCam 8 beta and today I have reallized that all my subscriptions DOESN’T WORK WITH ManyCam 8 (and I have 3, standard, studio and premium lifetime all of them). And what is most, there aren’t a lifetime subscription for ManyCam 8.

So, why do you offer me a “lifetime” subscription if it doesn’t work with new versions.

Sorry but it seems unacceptable. Very disappointed.
-[NAME REDACTED]
}}

On July 1st 2022, a "Guest Writer" who was posting under the guise of Visicom Media, the previous owner, made a blog post on the official ManyCam.com website: <ref name="ManyCam Blog: Update for ManyCam Lifetime Subscriptions">[https://web.archive.org/web/20230531011812/https://manycam.com/blog/update-for-manycam-lifetime-subscriptions/ "ManyCam Blog: Update for ManyCam Lifetime Subscriptions"] manycam.com via The Interner Archive</ref>

{{Quote box|quote=
ManyCam is now under new ownership. The new owner does not offer Lifetime subscriptions. Some Lifetime customers have been concerned about their ability to use their subscription in the future. The intent was never to interfere with that ability of current Lifetime customers.

Visicom Media stands by the Lifetime customers and will continue to support them by arranging with the new owner for a total of two years of free subscription. This offer can be claimed in the ManyCam account on the webpage. At the user’s request, and upon the expiration of the two-year free subscription, Visicom Media will offer an upgrade to any current Lifetime customers who continue to need such access.
}}

As a result of [[Paltalk]]'s actions, many users who relied on this video software throughout the COVID-19 pandemic were caught in a situation where the software was inoperable, despite having paid for a "Lifetime" license.

Another user created a post on their personal web blog, describing the situation: 
<ref name="Amazing CTO (Blog): ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license">[https://web.archive.org/web/20230413205720/https://www.amazingcto.com/beware-manycam-licensing-pricing/ "ManyCam dishonored my lifetime license"] amazingcto.com via The Internet Archive</ref>

<blockquote>
How one day I've learned that lifetime license doesn't mean lifetime

I wanted to talk about customer relations and how to have a successful startup. And what not to do.

Let’s start with a story. I’ve bought a Premium Lifetime license from ManyCam. ManyCam is a software that does several things, I needed it to be able to use a webcam in two applications at the same time. One year after I’ve bought the Lifetime license, they released a new version and my Lifetime license effectively stopped working.

“ManyCam is now under new ownership. […] Visicom Media stands by the Lifetime customers and will continue to support them by arranging with the new owner for a total of two years of free subscription." Standing by the lifetime customer by offering two years and dishonoring the lifetime license? I call that a “Weasel License” not a “Lifetime Premium License” as the lifetime of a weasel is two years (Can you believe that? I didn’t know either).

There is the saying that a happy customer doesn’t talk, but an unhappy customer spreads their bad experience to ten people. The person you’ve sold the lifetime license to will probably never update, because they hate you, there is no money in it for you anymore from that customer except you can hold them hostage. In this case even more sinister, offering a free subscription to get you on the subscription bandwagon - screw you twice. But I chose a one time lifetime license exactly because I don’t want a subscription. So trying to get me on a subscription doesn’t make any sense at all. In the end money for you but the downside of an unhappy customer running around, telling their story.

I do understand the constraints of a business, and sometimes you need money right now, so you want to get all your future income from a customer and offer a lifetime license. I also understand selling a business and the new owner has new priorities (the reason I tell all my CTO coachees they need everything in writing from their boss in their contract, a new boss will probably only honor what is written down, not spoken promises). I understand the reason for the lifetime license might be to increase sales numbers before you sell the business. But then you should honor that deal and let the customer use your software for a lifetime, and not make it stop working after a year. You can argue it’s a new release, and lifetime was only for the old software. If you keep lifetime bug fixes coming and all the features working for the old software, this might be fine but still feels dishonest (they didn’t answer my question of how long my version would be supported with bug fixes - especially as it crashes rather often1). And I’d argue from a software developer point of view it’s easier to let the customer use the newest software than updating and fixing older version for “Lifetime”, especially if you have a complete rewrite.

This tradeoff between short time benefits and long term benefits is something that goes on in every company and especially startups. Do you do everything to get this one customer? Do you want to develop a feature for one customer to win the customer or develop some other feature to win potentially more customers in the future? Do you invest in future growth? In stability and scalability? Or do you invest all your effort into short term gains?

A little detour. In the beginning of a startup it’s often a good idea to invest in short term gains. There is too much work to do, you need to show traction at all costs or if bootstrapped, make some money. Then at a certain point, a startup needs to switch to a more sustainable future. Put things on the roadmap for future growth. A good way to do this is having development budgets. In financial budget planning companies plan on how they want to spend money (resources) for maximum effect. What percentage goes to development, what percentage of the budget goes to marketing. The same can be applied to development time (resources). You plan to spend 10% of your development time on scaling, 10% on maintenance, 20% on short term gains, 20% on marketing and 40% on future growth features. Then from quarter to quarter you can adjust the numbers to reflect you current situation. But just as budgeting your calendar (something I highly recommend) you do not lose focus and make sure you work on the right things instead of having development chaos.

Coming back to customers. Do you invest in extracting short term money from customers? Or do you invest in long term relations. In the case of ManyCam they could have sold me add-ons that feel like they are worth it. By honoring the lifetime license the likelihood of me buying from them increases. It is the same as from the detour. In the beginning it’s about getting traction, then about getting money. And then the key to growth is retention. If you want to grow your customer base, the first thing is to prevent customers leaving. If you fill water in a bucket with a hole - something I’ve seen in to many startups on how they use marketing without product market fit - then after some time the bucket is empty when you stop pouring. So don’t make your customers run away.
</blockquote>

As is evident from the above posts, many customers were unhappy about being placed in the situation that [[Paltalk]] put them in, and felt that [[Paltalk]] was being dishonest because their actions constituted a classic [[Bait and Switch]] tactic.  Other users agreed with this assessment, saying that they were "'disgusted'": <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid">[https://web.archive.org/web/20231024221248/https://forum.manycam.com/t/lifetime-sub-no-longer-valid-manycam-8/6456 "ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"] forum.manycam.com via The Internet Archive</ref>

<blockquote>
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 15, 2022, 4:56pm

So, after using the beta for a while now, suddenly it tells me that my lifetime sub isnt valid for manycam 8 or higher.

There is no longer any lifetime pricing listed on their site.

They’ve basically sold lifetime subscriptions and spontaneously stopped supporting them in releases going forward.

Bait & Switch trash move. I’m disgusted.

</blockquote>

Paying customers were driven away from ManyCam due to [[Paltalk]]'s actions.  Understandably, those paying customers were very unhappy when their "lifetime" license no longer worked, as it had for all other versions prior to ManyCam version 8.  One customer related their experiences with previous upgrades to compare and contrast with the new situation and highlight their perception of the company's dishonest behavior: <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"></ref>


<blockquote>
[USERNAME REDACTED] June 15, 2022, 7:55pm



MANYCAM 8 is a Rip Off-!!!

For all of us who have supported this company with a Premium Lifetime Subscription, of which I had purchased two, I feel very let down that my subscription of a ‘Premium Lifetime’ does not apply to version 8? Yet, for all the other versions up until v7 and its updates it applied. I cant work this one out. How can they charge for a Lifetime Subscription, which at the time included ALL FUTURE UPDATES, now not count with version 8.

Am I the only one who has fallen fowl of this Company? It seems they are Judge, Jury and Executioner when it comes to changing their policies, forgetting their loyal customers who paid good money for them to exist. If this is how they treat their loyal customers, just think what they must be like to work for! I pity their employees. If nothing else, ManyCam has FAILED to honour all customers who purchased a Premium Lifetime Subscription! Shame on you!!!
</blockquote>


Another customer agreed with the "AmazingCTO"'s assessment and proposal that [[Paltalk]] should honor their previous customers' Lifetime licenses by grandfathering them in: <ref name="ManyCam Forums: Lifetime Sub no longer valid"></ref>

<blockquote>
[USERNAME REDACTED] August 12, 2022, 9:35am 

This is NOT the way you treat your customers.
The correct way would be to grandfather in Lifetime subscribers and let the new subscription model be for new users. Or AT LEAST give us a minimum of 10 year free use.

I have bought Studio Lifetime and upgraded to Premium Lifetime. And do not even get a full year of use before I need to convert to a subscription to continue to get updates?

I do believe my lifetime is more than ONE YEAR!!
</blockquote>

Indeed, most human beings would concur that a "lifetime" is a span of time much greater than one year.  As such, these customers perceived [[Paltalk]] to be disingenuous by not honoring the "lifetime" license agreement.

Later, on around June 18th 2022, [[Paltalk]] modified the ManyCam Knowledge Base webpage to change the stated terms regarding the ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans: (emphasis added on changes) <ref name="ManyCam Knowledge Base (Modified by Paltalk): Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?">[https://web.archive.org/web/20220618021632/https://help.manycam.com/knowledge-base/manycam-devices-video-sources/ " Will I get all future versions and updates of ManyCam for free?"] manycam.com via The Internet Archive ''After being aquired by Patatalk'' </ref>

<blockquote>
'''ManyCam Lifetime subscription plans'''

Any paid ''''ManyCam 7'''' Lifetime subscription allows you to upgrade the ''''ManyCam 7'''' software for free whenever a newer version of ''''ManyCam 7'''' is released, i.e. with ''''ManyCam 7 Lifetime'''', you will get lifetime access to all future versions and updates of the ''''ManyCam 7'''' application for free, which includes access to the paid ''''ManyCam 7'''' features available in your subscription plan (Standard, Studio, Premium, Enterprise, Education). ''''ManyCam 7 Lifetime'''' subscription plans are a one-time payment, no renewal or other fees included.
</blockquote>

Of course, this was a very obvious change to previous customers who had enjoyed free upgrades for any and all versions prior to ManyCam 7.  Needless to say, those customers were still unhappy.  The new language simply replaced ''"ManyCam"'' with ''"ManyCam 7"''.  Additionally, their statement effectively made '''no promises of any upgrades''' because ManyCam 8 had already been released, and no new versions of ManyCam 7 were to be worked on by [[Paltalk]].

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Companies]]