A neutrino walks into a bar…
August 7th, 2007 by marc
Today’s news that the New York Times was going to stop charging for Times Select left me sad and pondering why I felt that way.
The discussion of whether software, music, services, etc, ought to be free and the implications of that have been much discussed (hilariously by Elton John in the Sun) and I’m not going to summarize them here. I do like what Brad from 37Signals says:
“They forget that not everyone has Google’s search subsidies, Yahoo’s traffic, or Apple’s hardware revenues making up for their “free” bundled software. The rest of the companies in the world have to put a price tag on their wares and sell them on the public markets. And surprise!… The public is happy to pay for great products. Advertising-subsidized product revenue is just a teeny tiny sliver of the overall economy. Most of the rest is buying and selling of goods.”
Thinking about it a bit more, I pay about $350/yr for a subscription to the NYT, I could be wrong. I read it online mostly, and sometimes read the paper. It’s not an economic decision, it’s that I like living in a world where there are good newspapers, which can be taken and read in a park or on a beach, and where there are investigative reporters and great columnists.
I’m sad because if this is the death of paid content, I think the newspaper which I treasure and the people who write for it will also disappear and we won’t realize what we’ve lost until it’s gone.
… the neutrino. Orders a drink. The bar tender tells him, “There’s no charge.”
photo thanks to Lorrie McClanahan on Flickr.
Hello Marc,
I think… the reason NYT finally saw the writing on the wall was because you and I (only with the flexability of the internet) can exchange ideas right here… with OUT any fees being paid. I can tell you what I think, you can tell me what you think, and if you made me pay YOU for what YOU think (particularly via the internet) I’d go ask somoene ELSE what THEY think.
Even I have Thomas Friedman’s email address… If I really wanted to ask him something, I can write to him or ping him.
I understand the unhurried simplicity of reading an ENTIRE newspaper or a magazine. But in the future, I may have to print what I like myself, and THEN go to the park to read it.
I found your site after googling the NYT subject.
felipeamigo2006@gmail.com
NOW… i just realized.. that I will want to “save” this site.. to see if anyone replies to what I wrote…
try co.mment.com track your conversations! and blogrovr of course.
cheers.