Thursday, June 10, 2010

Five things Old Media Still Don't Get About the Web

Love this. I am absolutely gobsmacked how people like Rupert Murdoch, who really should know better, think that everyone will start paying for internet news on Fox. Everything he knows about the world tells him he is correct. This means he doesn't get out much.

Here's an excerpt from "Five Things Old Media Still Don't Get About the Web." Read the full article here.

"Earlier this week, the New York Times company forced the iPad Pulse News Reader app to be pulled from the App Store. The reason? It took the Times’ RSS feed and put it inside its own app.

To be clear, the RSS feed in question was a headline, a one-sentence introduction and a link to the full story on the NYT site. That’s it. Worse? Steve Jobs highlighted the app earlier during his WWDC keynote – and the NYT itself wrote a glowing review of the app just a few days before.

As mystifying as the move seems from the outside, it’s yet another sign that established old media entities are still really struggling to understand the web. Time and time again, it feels as if old media companies, rather than embracing the massive potential of the web, seem to shoot themselves in the foot.

So consider this a public service. For all those people out there working in established media, here are five things you still don’t seem to get about the web"

3 comments:

BoRyan said...

Can't resist commenting.

I actually wouldn't mind paying a small recurring amount for high-quality content in the digital form I want (whether iPhone, iPad, eReader, TV, whatever floats your boat)

Despite my life and interests revolving around online, internet, technology, I still like some of the "old".

I subscribe to the print WSJ. Yes, I hear you crying to think that I'm indirectly supporting Rupert Murdoch.

What's frustrating to me - a user that is willing to pay something for good content -is that I seem to be an outlier.

With my rather "pricey" subscription to WSJ print, I can't get access to the WSJ iPhone app without paying an additional monthly fee. So, if I'm out of town, I'm screwed.

I can't reconcile paying more for the same content that is sitting at home on my doorstep. So, I don't.

Please make it easy for me, and don't assume I'm always going to be in the same place, using the same device.

BoRyan said...

Complete aside, you have to read Scott Adams recent article in WSJ on why he invests in companies he hates:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575285000265955016.html

(hopefully this doesn't end up behind a paywall)

Jake of All Trades said...

That Scott Adams article was great. Thought not fully on topic, I thought this part rang especially true:

I am, however, willing to respond to incoming text messages a long as they are in the form of yes-no questions and my answer are in the affirmative. In those cases I can simply type "k," the shorthand for OK, and I have trained my friends and family to accept L, J, O, or comma as meaning the same thing.