3 ms·

I think that it is a good idea/experiment to start charging web-users for news content (and I'm surprised that all six previous comments criticized the move)

by credo 17y ago

I think that it is a good idea/experiment to start charging web-users for news content (and I'm surprised that all six previous comments criticized the move) As for Anderson's "Free" book mentioned in a previous comment, that book isn't free and I suspect that Anderson won't make the content free for downloads. Ultimately, we live in an age where people pay $4 for latte and iPhone users pay money for cheap-to-develop, crude entertainment apps. Sending reporters to Afghanisthan, covering the war in Iraq, tracking child abuse in Congo or investigating political corruption in Washington is an expensive proposition. So ...to the people who like the news/analysis, but won't pay for it, please consider whether the NYT (or your other favorite newspaper) is really worth less than the other things that you spend money on.

jlangenauer 17y ago
Actually, you can read Anderson's book "Free" online at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/17135767/FREE-full-book-by-Chris-Anderson http://www.scribd.com/doc/17135767/FREE-full-book-by-Chris-A... (He explicitly mentions in the book that he's giving it away for free, so this is legit.)
- credo 17y ago
  Thanks for the info. I should have checked to see if the book was available for free. I'll take a look at the book. My point about the relative value of news/analysis content vs latte etc. still applies
- mtd 17y ago
  Free seems to be a relative term. From Germany I get the following: "Sorry, this content is geographically restricted Due to our agreements with our publishing partners, the document you requested is only available to users located in the United States."
  - credo 17y ago
    I tried this out (in the US). Downloads don't work, printing returns an error "Printing has been disabled" and reading it with scribd is pretty inconvenient. I guess the point is that you can read it for free if you're willing to put up with a lot of inconvenience.

by credo 17y ago

jlangenauer 17y ago

Actually, you can read Anderson's book "Free" online at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/17135767/FREE-full-book-by-Chris-Anderson http://www.scribd.com/doc/17135767/FREE-full-book-by-Chris-A... (He explicitly mentions in the book that he's giving it away for free, so this is legit.)

credo 17y ago
Thanks for the info. I should have checked to see if the book was available for free. I'll take a look at the book. My point about the relative value of news/analysis content vs latte etc. still applies
mtd 17y ago
Free seems to be a relative term. From Germany I get the following: "Sorry, this content is geographically restricted Due to our agreements with our publishing partners, the document you requested is only available to users located in the United States."
- credo 17y ago
  I tried this out (in the US). Downloads don't work, printing returns an error "Printing has been disabled" and reading it with scribd is pretty inconvenient. I guess the point is that you can read it for free if you're willing to put up with a lot of inconvenience.