Comments on: Why Pay When You Can Get it for Free http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/ Chicago-based web developer Duo Consulting shares its opinions, advice & experiences about web content marketing, management and social media Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:19:15 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Erik http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-13985 Erik Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:53:02 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-13985 Quote: "If the Times starts charging for news, what stops me from going to CNN.com or just turning on the TV?" Answer: Because as soon as a large enough number of information providers --not just newspapers-- start charging for content, the rest, the smaller ones, etc, will rapidly follow suit. You won't be able to switch anymore, unless you're interested in nonsense, half-truths, etc. Heck, that's already the case with most sites! Quote: “If the Times starts charging for news, what stops me from going to CNN.com or just turning on the TV?”

Answer: Because as soon as a large enough number of information providers –not just newspapers– start charging for content, the rest, the smaller ones, etc, will rapidly follow suit.

You won’t be able to switch anymore, unless you’re interested in nonsense, half-truths, etc. Heck, that’s already the case with most sites!

]]> By: Social Media News Website True/Slant.com Offers More http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-10961 Social Media News Website True/Slant.com Offers More Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:23:31 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-10961 [...] and engaging readers. True/Slant introduces a new model in online news—one of many models we have discussed here various times that will emerge as on-line news picks up the mantle where print appears to be laying [...] [...] and engaging readers. True/Slant introduces a new model in online news—one of many models we have discussed here various times that will emerge as on-line news picks up the mantle where print appears to be laying [...]

]]> By: Dangerous future for technical writing? | just write click http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-10542 Dangerous future for technical writing? | just write click Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:22:19 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-10542 [...] the Baltimore Sun. Over at the Duo Consulting blog, Diane Wieland wrote a great entry titled “Why Pay When You Can Get It For Free.” In it, she discusses the general freaking out of old media and their dated business models. [...] [...] the Baltimore Sun. Over at the Duo Consulting blog, Diane Wieland wrote a great entry titled “Why Pay When You Can Get It For Free.” In it, she discusses the general freaking out of old media and their dated business models. [...]

]]> By: Diane Wieland http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-6754 Diane Wieland Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:28:51 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-6754 That was a great article. I like his quote from Henry Luce, a co-founder of TIME, who said, the ad-only revenue model was "morally abhorrent" and also "economically self-defeating." People have some strong feelings about this issue. I think we've already seen this to some degree when companies like GE started buying television networks. Isaacson explains it this way: "That was because he believed that good journalism required that a publication's primary duty be to its readers, not to its advertisers. In an advertising-only revenue model, the incentive is perverse. It is also self-defeating, because eventually you will weaken your bond with your readers if you do not feel directly dependent on them for your revenue". I'm wondering if the idea of charging for a weekend magazine--like the Monitor was proposing--might be one model that works. I still love the slick pages and great photography of a magazine. You can't really duplicate that online the way you can news columns. But I agree with the Clay Shirky post referenced above when he says this is a revolution much like the invention of the printing press caused. I suspect eventually more than one model will emerge as successful depending on the audience. I just hope the integrity of the news is consistent for everyone, not just people who can/ will pay for subscriptions. That was a great article. I like his quote from Henry Luce, a co-founder of TIME, who said, the ad-only revenue model was “morally abhorrent” and also “economically self-defeating.” People have some strong feelings about this issue. I think we’ve already seen this to some degree when companies like GE started buying television networks. Isaacson explains it this way:

“That was because he believed that good journalism required that a publication’s primary duty be to its readers, not to its advertisers. In an advertising-only revenue model, the incentive is perverse. It is also self-defeating, because eventually you will weaken your bond with your readers if you do not feel directly dependent on them for your revenue”.

I’m wondering if the idea of charging for a weekend magazine–like the Monitor was proposing–might be one model that works. I still love the slick pages and great photography of a magazine. You can’t really duplicate that online the way you can news columns.

But I agree with the Clay Shirky post referenced above when he says this is a revolution much like the invention of the printing press caused. I suspect eventually more than one model will emerge as successful depending on the audience. I just hope the integrity of the news is consistent for everyone, not just people who can/ will pay for subscriptions.

]]> By: Kevin Sullivan http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-6747 Kevin Sullivan Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:44:14 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-6747 You should read what Walter Isaacson has been saying on the subject of paying for online news. It became the cover story for a recent issue of TIME magazine. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1877191,00.html The early developers of Internet content created the problem when they decided that "everything" on the net should be free. But, businesses pay for online news and information they believe is valuable to their businesses. And some pay pretty hefty subscription fees. They are paying for targeted, researched content. Consumers of news who value the credibility of their information should be willing to pay for it. They pay now for print publications and in essence pay when they watch TV news on cable or satellite. They also pay for news on satellite radio. So why should the Internet-delivered content be any different? If consumers pay for their news then the news organizations must serve them, rather than being beholden only to the corporations buy ad space. You should read what Walter Isaacson has been saying on the subject of paying for online news. It became the cover story for a recent issue of TIME magazine. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1877191,00.html
The early developers of Internet content created the problem when they decided that “everything” on the net should be free. But, businesses pay for online news and information they believe is valuable to their businesses. And some pay pretty hefty subscription fees. They are paying for targeted, researched content. Consumers of news who value the credibility of their information should be willing to pay for it. They pay now for print publications and in essence pay when they watch TV news on cable or satellite. They also pay for news on satellite radio. So why should the Internet-delivered content be any different? If consumers pay for their news then the news organizations must serve them, rather than being beholden only to the corporations buy ad space.

]]> By: Diane Wieland http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-6535 Diane Wieland Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:09:30 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-6535 Ha! Yes what we need is journalism. I suppose we'll have to just keep throwing new ideas about how to deliver it out until we see what sticks. Or as Shirky said in the column you referenced: "The old stuff gets broken faster than the new stuff is put in its place. The importance of any given experiment isn’t apparent at the moment it appears; big changes stall, small changes spread. Even the revolutionaries can’t predict what will happen." Who knows where we will land, but it will be interesting to watch how many revolutionary ideas get picked up for a few brief moments then discarded for the next new thing. Maybe we'll never land in one place, but see a constant evolution of news delivery in ways we haven't even thought of yet. Ha! Yes what we need is journalism. I suppose we’ll have to just keep throwing new ideas about how to deliver it out until we see what sticks. Or as Shirky said in the column you referenced:

“The old stuff gets broken faster than the new stuff is put in its place. The importance of any given experiment isn’t apparent at the moment it appears; big changes stall, small changes spread. Even the revolutionaries can’t predict what will happen.”

Who knows where we will land, but it will be interesting to watch how many revolutionary ideas get picked up for a few brief moments then discarded for the next new thing. Maybe we’ll never land in one place, but see a constant evolution of news delivery in ways we haven’t even thought of yet.

]]> By: Anne Gentle http://blog.duoconsulting.com/2009/03/10/why-pay-when-you-can-get-it-for-free/comment-page-1/#comment-6515 Anne Gentle Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:17:25 +0000 http://blog.duoconsulting.com/?p=2649#comment-6515 If you're interested in this topic, you'll enjoy Clay Shirky's post, Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkabl at http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/. He offers no other model, though, saying "Round and round this goes, with the people committed to saving newspapers demanding to know “If the old model is broken, what will work in its place?” To which the answer is: Nothing. Nothing will work. There is no general model for newspapers to replace the one the internet just broke." Yipes. But the essay continues with a more hopeful message. "Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism." So what models of journalism will work? He doesn't claim to know, but he does know we need to experiment. If you’re interested in this topic, you’ll enjoy Clay Shirky’s post, Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkabl at http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable/.

He offers no other model, though, saying “Round and round this goes, with the people committed to saving newspapers demanding to know “If the old model is broken, what will work in its place?” To which the answer is: Nothing. Nothing will work. There is no general model for newspapers to replace the one the internet just broke.”

Yipes. But the essay continues with a more hopeful message. “Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism.”

So what models of journalism will work? He doesn’t claim to know, but he does know we need to experiment.

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