3 ms·

This reminds me of the "Free Day Pass" salon.com used to have before it scrapped the idea entirely: "So we put up an ad over the front door of the site. Subscr

This reminds me of the "Free Day Pass" salon.com used to have before it scrapped the idea entirely: "So we put up an ad over the front door of the site. Subscribers wouldn't see it at all; other readers had to watch a 30-second video ad, then they got a 'day pass.' "The day pass approach was beloved by the advertisers and hated by many, though not all, readers. More important, by this point the public was, understandably, thoroughly confused about how to get to read Salon content. It took many years for our traffic to begin to grow again." http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/dec/03/memories-paywall-pioneer http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/dec/03/memories-paywall...

BadCookie 15y ago
I'd argue that consumers are accustomed to filling out CAPTCHAs, and thus are less likely to be confused by these ads. As a reader, I would hate filling out a DoubleRecall ad much less than being denied access altogether because I am unwilling to subscribe. Of all of the Y-Combinator companies that I've read about in this batch, I'm most excited about DoubleRecall on the basis of the idea alone.
- 3pt14159 15y ago
  Really? I'm not trying to knock them, they seem like they'll make money, but the one you are most excited about? http://www.quartzy.com/ http://www.quartzy.com/ http://marketbrief.com/ http://marketbrief.com/ http://bushi.do/ http://bushi.do/ https://mongohq.com https://mongohq.com http://scienceexchange.com/ http://scienceexchange.com/ All look far more exciting to me.
  - BadCookie 15y ago
    I think that there is a risk of high quality, New York Times caliber journalism disappearing entirely. I'd prefer not to see that happen, and I don't think that paywalls are the answer. So anything that can make quality content more lucrative without forcing readers to actually fork over cash is exciting to me. I doubt that DoubleRecall can single-handedly save journalism or anything, but it might be a step in the right direction.
    - tomjen3 15y ago
      I hope they go, since their job isn't to provide high quality journalism, but to expose illegalities, abuses of power and corruption none of which they do much of anymore.

BadCookie 15y ago

I'd argue that consumers are accustomed to filling out CAPTCHAs, and thus are less likely to be confused by these ads. As a reader, I would hate filling out a DoubleRecall ad much less than being denied access altogether because I am unwilling to subscribe. Of all of the Y-Combinator companies that I've read about in this batch, I'm most excited about DoubleRecall on the basis of the idea alone.

3pt14159 15y ago
Really? I'm not trying to knock them, they seem like they'll make money, but the one you are most excited about? http://www.quartzy.com/ http://www.quartzy.com/ http://marketbrief.com/ http://marketbrief.com/ http://bushi.do/ http://bushi.do/ https://mongohq.com https://mongohq.com http://scienceexchange.com/ http://scienceexchange.com/ All look far more exciting to me.
- BadCookie 15y ago
  I think that there is a risk of high quality, New York Times caliber journalism disappearing entirely. I'd prefer not to see that happen, and I don't think that paywalls are the answer. So anything that can make quality content more lucrative without forcing readers to actually fork over cash is exciting to me. I doubt that DoubleRecall can single-handedly save journalism or anything, but it might be a step in the right direction.
  - tomjen3 15y ago
    I hope they go, since their job isn't to provide high quality journalism, but to expose illegalities, abuses of power and corruption none of which they do much of anymore.