Spread The News! Oh Wait, We Can't...
from the understanding-the-internet dept
We've explained plenty of times before why walled gardens don't make sense in the internet age, and here's a good example of why. Both John Battelle and JD Lasica are complaining that they never read former "must reads" like the Wall Street Journal and The Economist. It's not that these sites are subscription only (since some are clearly willing to pay for them), but that it's impossible to link to those sites -- knowing that most readers can't get into the site. So, these former "must reads" are put on the dust-collecting pile, not because these readers can't read them, but because they can't share them. Just last month we wrote about how the importance of breaking news is in how people want to share it, not just receive it -- and how that changes how news organizations should think about presenting and delivering the news. The sites that offer up only walled gardens, with no way to let people share end up losing out. Battelle suggests that even sites that offer paid subscriptions should let people deep link in, letting visitors coming from those links see that specific page, but none others without a subscription. That seems like a much more reasonable idea. It keeps them as part of the discussion -- which is increasingly all that matters for a news organization that wants to stay relevant.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
emailing is sharing -- isn't it?
What's wrong with emailing stories?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Google News
I don't like subscription sites, and like the idea of allowing sharing a specific link, but I think the Law of Unintended Consequences would have a big downside.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Google News
[ link to this | view in thread ]
I have an idea
Stop talking about how irrelevant newspapers have become, and just let them die.
The only time I ever read a newspaper is if somebody leaves one on the bus.
We don't keep having news stories about Olympus Typewriters, do we? They went the way of the do-do because they did not forsee how word processors would dominate the market and put them out of business.
It is almost time for newspapers to go out of business too, bunch of tree killing nebosites.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: emailing is sharing -- isn't it?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: emailing is sharing -- isn't it?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: emailing is sharing -- isn't it?
When it comes to "email this" links, "Just say NO!"
[ link to this | view in thread ]