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This full-length (albeit short) article is him announcing he’s leaving The Atlantic. So… problem solved?

by mburns 3y ago

Michelangelo11 3y ago
Consider the possibility that the problem is not having to subscribe to The Atlantic per se, but having to subscribe to a magazine to read just one of its writers -- and that, perhaps, the problem may get worse because Ed Yong might start writing for multiple magazines that each ask you to subscribe. Honestly can't tell if you're trolling or being dense.
- shanusmagnus 3y ago
  Another way to think about it is that up till now, if you had subscribed to The Atlantic, you would have got him + a bunch of other writers in the bundle. To me, what the a-la-carte model has revealed is what media-savvy people had always said it would reveal: a bunch of individual writers who all want me to pay $70 a year to get their periodic newsletter updates. "If only my five favorites would get together and do something collectively, I'd pay $100 a year," I thought to myself. "And I'd bet they'd get vastly more subscribers and come out way ahead." Whoever said there are only two business models, bundling and un-bundling, seems to be right, as far as I can tell. I'm looking forward to the next bundling cycle.
  - Michelangelo11 3y ago
    > Another way to think about it is that up till now, if you had subscribed to The Atlantic, you would have got him + a bunch of other writers in the bundle. Wow. I never thought of it that way. It's kind of mind-blowing to think of a magazine as a bundle of writers. Any more insights of this caliber?
    - shanusmagnus 3y ago
      I hope you find someone to love you.
      - dang 3y ago
        Please don't respond to a bad comment by breaking the site guidelines yourself. That only makes things worse. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
    - dang 3y ago
      Hey, could you please follow the site guidelines when posting here? You've unfortunately been breaking them repeatedly. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- mburns 3y ago
  Substack doesn’t solve that problem any more than Buttondown (which accepts paid subscriptions) already does. Go subscribe and pay him money. Be the change you want to see in the world. > the problem may get worse If you didn’t subscribe to the Atlantic (which it sounds like was the case) this is at worse a wash.
  - Michelangelo11 3y ago
    > Substack doesn’t solve that problem any more than Buttondown (which accepts paid subscriptions) already does. No, unlike with Substack, you don't get access to articles through Buttondown, the payment is just a donation. > If you didn’t subscribe to the Atlantic (which it sounds like was the case) this is at worse a wash. So what? Yes, this is a wash, and I didn't say it was worse than before. I just said I wish he'd started a Substack, which would have been better. Still hard to tell if you're trolling or just cursed with a surplus of density in the wrong areas.
    - mburns 3y ago
      > No, unlike with Substack, you don't get access to articles through Buttondown, the payment is just a donation. Because that is how he set it up because that is how he explicitly wants it. If he wanted to charge for access, he could, on his current platform. So, yes. https://buttondown.email/comparisons/substack https://buttondown.email/comparisons/substack > So what? Yes, this is a wash, and I didn't say it was worse than before You said it “may get worse” but what you described was a wash. Maybe avoid the repeated insults.

This full-length (albeit short) article is him announcing he’s leaving The Atlantic. So… problem solved?

by mburns 3y ago

This full-length (albeit short) article is him announcing he’s leaving The Atlantic. So… problem solved?

Consider the possibility that the problem is not having to subscribe to The Atlantic per se, but having to subscribe to a magazine to read just one of its writers -- and that, perhaps, the problem may get worse because Ed Yong might start writing for multiple magazines that each ask you to subscribe. Honestly can't tell if you're trolling or being dense.

shanusmagnus 3y ago
Another way to think about it is that up till now, if you had subscribed to The Atlantic, you would have got him + a bunch of other writers in the bundle. To me, what the a-la-carte model has revealed is what media-savvy people had always said it would reveal: a bunch of individual writers who all want me to pay $70 a year to get their periodic newsletter updates. "If only my five favorites would get together and do something collectively, I'd pay $100 a year," I thought to myself. "And I'd bet they'd get vastly more subscribers and come out way ahead." Whoever said there are only two business models, bundling and un-bundling, seems to be right, as far as I can tell. I'm looking forward to the next bundling cycle.
- Michelangelo11 3y ago
  > Another way to think about it is that up till now, if you had subscribed to The Atlantic, you would have got him + a bunch of other writers in the bundle. Wow. I never thought of it that way. It's kind of mind-blowing to think of a magazine as a bundle of writers. Any more insights of this caliber?
  - shanusmagnus 3y ago
    I hope you find someone to love you.
    - dang 3y ago
      Please don't respond to a bad comment by breaking the site guidelines yourself. That only makes things worse. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - dang 3y ago
    Hey, could you please follow the site guidelines when posting here? You've unfortunately been breaking them repeatedly. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
mburns 3y ago
Substack doesn’t solve that problem any more than Buttondown (which accepts paid subscriptions) already does. Go subscribe and pay him money. Be the change you want to see in the world. > the problem may get worse If you didn’t subscribe to the Atlantic (which it sounds like was the case) this is at worse a wash.
- Michelangelo11 3y ago
  > Substack doesn’t solve that problem any more than Buttondown (which accepts paid subscriptions) already does. No, unlike with Substack, you don't get access to articles through Buttondown, the payment is just a donation. > If you didn’t subscribe to the Atlantic (which it sounds like was the case) this is at worse a wash. So what? Yes, this is a wash, and I didn't say it was worse than before. I just said I wish he'd started a Substack, which would have been better. Still hard to tell if you're trolling or just cursed with a surplus of density in the wrong areas.
  - mburns 3y ago
    > No, unlike with Substack, you don't get access to articles through Buttondown, the payment is just a donation. Because that is how he set it up because that is how he explicitly wants it. If he wanted to charge for access, he could, on his current platform. So, yes. https://buttondown.email/comparisons/substack https://buttondown.email/comparisons/substack > So what? Yes, this is a wash, and I didn't say it was worse than before You said it “may get worse” but what you described was a wash. Maybe avoid the repeated insults.