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This concept doesn't do the question justice. It's just a digital repackaging of the standard once-daily newspaper. The problem with newspapers isn't the packag

This concept doesn't do the question justice. It's just a digital repackaging of the standard once-daily newspaper. The problem with newspapers isn't the packaging. The periodical arose because of printing costs and distribution time. You need to run the presses all night to print a morning edition, so at most there's going to be one issue per day. If the newspaper were reinvented today it wouldn't have those constraints. It certainly wouldn't be a once-daily edition.

bradleyland 16y ago
Flip that perspective on its head. Why are websites updated continuously? Because we can, and because it would actually require more work/thinking to do so on the more traditional newspaper release approach. However, I do think there are merits of the edited "digest" format inherent to a print release cycle. My RSS reader is a great example of the shortcomings of a continuous release cycle. It's a fire hose of information because there is no editorial intermediary. Social aggregator sites like Hacker News, Reddit, and once upon a time, Digg, provide a distributed method of determining the value of content, but I find they lack consistently. The dynamic of the community changes over time. Just look at what happened to Digg. Look at the changes and cycles that Reddit and Hacker News go through. As I drown in the stream from the fire hose on a daily basis, I am increasingly willing to pay for the benefits of browsing a curated view of the news. A skilled editor acts as a filter and adds value by providing commentary. They represent a layer that is missing in todays internet. We are all our own editors. Consider how inefficient that is. Think of websites that consist mainly of links to other news/content. Jason Kottke's blog is a great example. He doesn't focus on one particular topic, but most of the things he posts are interesting to people who are "in to" the internet. John Gruber is an example of a more focused approach. He covers Apple almost exclusively. His blog is a stream of links with short editorial content, punctuated by long, well thought-out opinion pieces. Not everyone agrees with him, but if you're an Apple fan, his site is a must-read. Imagine building a team of Jason Kottkes and John Grubers, all focused on their specialty, along with an editorial hierarchy to consolidate and filter the information. What have you got? You've got a newspaper. The answer isn't more content, it's less.

bradleyland 16y ago

Flip that perspective on its head. Why are websites updated continuously? Because we can, and because it would actually require more work/thinking to do so on the more traditional newspaper release approach. However, I do think there are merits of the edited "digest" format inherent to a print release cycle. My RSS reader is a great example of the shortcomings of a continuous release cycle. It's a fire hose of information because there is no editorial intermediary. Social aggregator sites like Hacker News, Reddit, and once upon a time, Digg, provide a distributed method of determining the value of content, but I find they lack consistently. The dynamic of the community changes over time. Just look at what happened to Digg. Look at the changes and cycles that Reddit and Hacker News go through. As I drown in the stream from the fire hose on a daily basis, I am increasingly willing to pay for the benefits of browsing a curated view of the news. A skilled editor acts as a filter and adds value by providing commentary. They represent a layer that is missing in todays internet. We are all our own editors. Consider how inefficient that is. Think of websites that consist mainly of links to other news/content. Jason Kottke's blog is a great example. He doesn't focus on one particular topic, but most of the things he posts are interesting to people who are "in to" the internet. John Gruber is an example of a more focused approach. He covers Apple almost exclusively. His blog is a stream of links with short editorial content, punctuated by long, well thought-out opinion pieces. Not everyone agrees with him, but if you're an Apple fan, his site is a must-read. Imagine building a team of Jason Kottkes and John Grubers, all focused on their specialty, along with an editorial hierarchy to consolidate and filter the information. What have you got? You've got a newspaper. The answer isn't more content, it's less.