ers. If APIs are available, we engineers can cobble together a program to pull our data out. Without APIs, we can even whip up a screen scraper to get a copy of the data. Unfortunately, for most users this is not an option, and they are often left wondering if they can get their data out at all.

ILLustratIon By gary ne ILL

Locking your users in, of course, has
the advantage of making it more diffi-
cult for them to leave you for a competi-
tor. Likewise, if your competitors lock
their users in, it is harder for those users
to move to your product. Nonetheless,
it is far preferable to spend your engi-
neering effort on innovation than it is
to build bigger walls and stronger doors
that prevent users from leaving. Making
it easier for users to experiment today
greatly increases their trust in you, and
they are more likely to return to your
product line tomorrow.