Ask HN: Is a $100B MOOC startup in the making?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5326313

by diminish • 13 years ago

1 1 13 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

It seems plausible for billions of people to pay a two digit yearly sum for continuous online education. That means a MOOC empire bigger than Google. what do you think?

Mitchella• 13 years ago

I'm going to stick to a firm no on this one. For starters, this is very expensive to some. Second, not everyone owns or has internet access. So to say "billionS of people" is already incorrect. The second problem with this is competition, you're assuming that people will just line up in droves to come learn and this super company will have no competition. When you put a pricetag on something it becomes a harder competition to fight. The example of google being used as an 'empire' is comparable to that of Facebook. They're both free services, so the idea of using them is a no brainer. People will easily sign up for something that is free.

The final problem is most people don't care. I can say myself that I get nothing out of most education programs and learn more from experiences and communication. Of the people who are willing and able to sit down and educate themselves further on a regular basis with a paid program is a fraction of the population.

Ask HN: Is a $100B MOOC startup in the making?

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