So today the NY Times has announced it will start charging for online content. Like drug dealers, they give it to you for free and when your hooked, you become compelled to pay. But what the NY Times fails to realize is that we’re only hooked on free news. There are just too many places to get your news, and paying for receiving advertising isn’t going to cut it anymore. People who pay expect to get distraction free material. It’s unbelievable that these titans of news haven’t taken a lead from their radio and television counterparts who have been using a free model for years. If you have something that’s worth having, then you can get the advertisers to help pick up the tab. But don’t expect both the user and advertiser to do it. When you already are paying for bandwidth, who wants to pay to receive advertising to make YOU Rich?
The fact is that there are plenty of news outlets that are salivating at this and are ready to send out the links to get you as a regular customer. USAToday, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, HUFFPOST, The DailyBeast and on and on.
So NYTimes, lock us out of your content! Trust me, we’ll find another dealer.