I am an Android developer, so I know those ways to earn money to keep on the business without having to ask users for money in-app. But the way it is doing things lately on the Partiko app is not the best way to do.
They could show ads on their app, if they wish, of course. Myself added them on my apps. However:
- indicating to the user that an ad will be shown after clicking a button
- not showing a full screen ad -whichever the ad is about, even this new app made by them- as the first thing any user sees when running Partiko
is good experience and is respectful to users. Currently Partiko is not doing any of those, although I think they are trying to fix the second one. Users on Steem are privacy concerned. They would like to know that when clicking a button, a new ad will appear on their screens. Currently, Partiko is selling steemians privacy. They are giving them points, which is far more better than any other social platform. But sooner or later people will realize that their greed for points -which, of course, could be redeemed to upvotes- has converted them into the products, just as they would be in any traditional social platform.
As always, just my opinion on it.