We’re often asked the question: “Buzzword is free for now, but how long will it remain free?” So, let’s begin by making this as clear as possible: Buzzword is now, and will remain, free – no cost, free of charge, gratis and complimentary. If you read no further, trust us on this: we want Buzzword used as broadly as possible, with minimal barriers to adoption, so keeping it free *is* critical.
One of the most important considerations in our acquisition by Adobe is that we saw a path to continue offering Buzzword for free. Adobe, with a long history in publishing and document handling, wholeheartedly agreed. Adobe will offer a range of services related to collaboration and document handling, some of which will be offered for a fee, but will keep Buzzword free.
We had looked at a wide range of revenue options, from ad-supported to paid searches. But as any Buzzword user will tell you, we’ve been very focused on providing a clean, uncluttered writing experience. Ads in the document’s periphery would be distracting and would violate our most important design principle.
There are other models, but each was in some way intrusive on the user experience for writers and their collaborators. In jest it was even suggested that we start charging for grammatical errors – e.g. 5 cents for each split infinitive, 10 cents for ending a sentence with a preposition, 25 cents for misplaced modifiers. We were pretty sure we’d make a lot of money this way, though we’d end up with a user base comprised exclusively of English majors.
So, please just relax and enjoy the Buzzword experience, unencumbered by financial considerations. This one’s on us.
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