Mr. Maker is a stern but fair reviewer, and that makes this assessment pretty damning: No one knows the ins/outs of this business better than Ray.
For me - full disclosure - I'm still using the Free Strava subscription -
https://www.strava.com/athletes/21488408 . The advanced features of paid version really do nothing for me. They keep pushing the Training features, but I get all of that and more from my Polar Flow Account. I lost the yearly summary data ( that now only comes with a paid account), and the ability to brag about that - but trust me, my yearly numbers are not worth bragging about! :-)
I noticed that over the past month I was getting hit up FREQUENTLY to sign up for the paid version of Strava with some generous offers!
I'm a bit flabbergasted regarding the ability for Strava to get partnerships with key brands. I see great opportunities with things like "Challenges". There are some things going on on that front - but it seems VERY limited. If you have a paid subscription do you have more and better access and deals to the monthly "Challenges"? I would have though this a no-brainer for brands to get involved.
Like most Social Media - I enjoy the social interaction, with other athletes commenting on their rides, xc-skiing or activities, and them commenting on mine! FWIW - A recent report found that giving/receiving Kudos was a helpful motivator
https://runningmagazine.ca/...6GOVj7PmL02UyqZhfF9g In January exercise, I go through everything that we as a household have a subscription to - and cancel the ones that I feel we are just not getting value from. For now anyway, Strava is still not something that I see myself paying, according to Ray's article $100 CAN/year for. Just being honest!
Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog