MVP is convenient. It allows users to pay for their level of involvement from what I understand. I agree if a startup is going to play that game they should be transparent.
Some people get paid to stick company advertisements on the sides of their cars. Perhaps an analogous plan could exist where people agree to post/blog/tweet about the company and use a company avatar in exchange for an MVP account. More followers = better account. I'm sure there's stuff like this already but certainly having a universally recognizable karma system online would help--as sinister as it sounds--still good for business.
Also, sites can and do allocate system resources corresponding to account level. This hypothetically gives the user a taste of the real deal on a meager allowance.
Some people get paid to stick company advertisements on the sides of their cars. Perhaps an analogous plan could exist where people agree to post/blog/tweet about the company and use a company avatar in exchange for an MVP account. More followers = better account. I'm sure there's stuff like this already but certainly having a universally recognizable karma system online would help--as sinister as it sounds--still good for business.
Also, sites can and do allocate system resources corresponding to account level. This hypothetically gives the user a taste of the real deal on a meager allowance.
Just my take on MVP.