I dare say they missed the real lesson: Friction increases commitment; commitment increases compliance.
In Robert Cialdini's book, Influence, he dedicates a whole chapter to this phenomenon.
The easier you make it to get started, the easier you've made it to quit. They have no skin in the game. People value more the things they've spent money/time/effort to acquire.
So the game is in trying to identify which types of friction will increase commitment enough to overcome a drop in initial participation. It's not an easy line to walk.
In Robert Cialdini's book, Influence, he dedicates a whole chapter to this phenomenon.
The easier you make it to get started, the easier you've made it to quit. They have no skin in the game. People value more the things they've spent money/time/effort to acquire.
So the game is in trying to identify which types of friction will increase commitment enough to overcome a drop in initial participation. It's not an easy line to walk.