Buy Zinc Without Prescription http://markcoddington.com/2009/09/14/this-week-in-media-musings-advocacy-journalisms-bogus-failings-and-more-paywall-options/ Transforming journalism for a transformed society Thu, 26 May 2011 18:42:58 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 Buy Zinc Without Prescription http://markcoddington.com/2009/09/14/this-week-in-media-musings-advocacy-journalisms-bogus-failings-and-more-paywall-options/comment-page-1/#comment-11 Mark Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:13:33 +0000 http://markcoddington.com/?p=91#comment-11 Matt, I think you're absolutely right, in both ease of use and content. Regarding ease of use: I think that's a key point, and it seems to be a big part of Alan Mutter's ViewPass proposal, which would be a single payment mechanism (though not micropayments) that works across many different news sites. You don't have to mess with different accounts for different sites; just set up one account and add all the news sites you visit to it as you go. Regarding content: The problem is that most newspaper publishers <em>think</em> they have content that's worth paying for, when it's nowhere near that valuable. Simply put, much of it sucks. I think another key element that makes micropayments for news difficult in practice is that most news articles are far too ephemeral to feel as if they have any value. If I decide to pay to read a single news article, not only do I not know what I'm getting when I drop my coin, but most of the time I'm only getting two or three minutes of engagement, max. (Maybe only 10 or 15 seconds, if the article's that inconsequential or boring.) A product that small feels to most people like it should be free. And, taken individually, they're right. Which, of course, is why micropayments would be absurd in the vast majority of cases. Matt, I think you’re absolutely right, in both ease of use and content. Regarding ease of use: I think that’s a key point, and it seems to be a big part of Alan Mutter’s ViewPass proposal, which would be a single payment mechanism (though not micropayments) that works across many different news sites. You don’t have to mess with different accounts for different sites; just set up one account and add all the news sites you visit to it as you go. Regarding content: The problem is that most newspaper publishers think they have content that’s worth paying for, when it’s nowhere near that valuable. Simply put, much of it sucks.

I think another key element that makes micropayments for news difficult in practice is that most news articles are far too ephemeral to feel as if they have any value. If I decide to pay to read a single news article, not only do I not know what I’m getting when I drop my coin, but most of the time I’m only getting two or three minutes of engagement, max. (Maybe only 10 or 15 seconds, if the article’s that inconsequential or boring.) A product that small feels to most people like it should be free. And, taken individually, they’re right. Which, of course, is why micropayments would be absurd in the vast majority of cases.

]]> Buy Zinc Without Prescription http://markcoddington.com/2009/09/14/this-week-in-media-musings-advocacy-journalisms-bogus-failings-and-more-paywall-options/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Matthew Whitman Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:36:26 +0000 http://markcoddington.com/?p=91#comment-10 Nice work Mark, this is off to a great start. I was doing some reading earlier on why previous incarnations of the micropayment model have failed. I think people in the business (both journalism and internet business experts) might be over-thinking this. What makes things work online is two-fold. It must be easy and it must be useful (even if just for cheap amusement). Whatever system of micropayment online journalism outlets adopt, it has to be so simple that it takes no thought and no attention to use. Anything more complicated than "I see something I want to read and I click on this link, and here it is," is too complex. People will go elsewhere. Micropayment must be invisible, and super-easy to sign up for the first time. However, even if a simple payment system presents itself, there will still be many online editor scratching their heads at why they aren't getting any hits. Simply put, the content has to be top-notch and very current and the page design can't suck. Capitalism is alive and well in cyberspace - if your product is horrible, people just won't visit anymore. Bottom line: Easy payment options are vital, but content is just as crucial. News outlets that are putting out an average product in print won't get results just because they found an easy way to charge for content. Good outlets COULD bring in real dollars if they make the payment process invisible and offer great content. Nice work Mark, this is off to a great start. I was doing some reading earlier on why previous incarnations of the micropayment model have failed. I think people in the business (both journalism and internet business experts) might be over-thinking this. What makes things work online is two-fold. It must be easy and it must be useful (even if just for cheap amusement).

Whatever system of micropayment online journalism outlets adopt, it has to be so simple that it takes no thought and no attention to use. Anything more complicated than “I see something I want to read and I click on this link, and here it is,” is too complex. People will go elsewhere. Micropayment must be invisible, and super-easy to sign up for the first time.

However, even if a simple payment system presents itself, there will still be many online editor scratching their heads at why they aren’t getting any hits. Simply put, the content has to be top-notch and very current and the page design can’t suck. Capitalism is alive and well in cyberspace – if your product is horrible, people just won’t visit anymore.

Bottom line: Easy payment options are vital, but content is just as crucial. News outlets that are putting out an average product in print won’t get results just because they found an easy way to charge for content. Good outlets COULD bring in real dollars if they make the payment process invisible and offer great content.

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