The best thing about the internet is the free flow of information it allows, spreading knowledge and culture throughout all four corners of the globe almost instantly. However, the paywall, that thing which specifically limits this free flow in the pursuit of money, looks as if it's encroaching ever more on this freedom.
Since News International, run by Rupert Murdoch, The New York Times put up its paywall a couple of years ago, an increasing number of other online publications have started doing the same and it appears that the trend is accelerating. Six months ago, Ebuyline reported on how more and more newspapers are moving over to a paywall model and the kind of paywalls that some of those papers implemented.
Now, British newspaper The Telegraph have announced that they are also putting up a paywall - but have cleverly avoided the loaded word "paywall" in their announcement. In fact they are spinning it to make making it sound like a "feature" for their loyal readers, when in reality you just have to start paying good money for what you previously had for free. Here's how the paywall will work:
Subscribers to the print edition will automatically have unlimited access to all online content, along with free access to the tablet edition and use of their iPad and smartphone apps.
Non-subscribers will get a taster of the content before being asked to pony up money:
The Telegraph isn't the only British newspaper to start charging for online content, either. That glorious British treasure of high quality tabloid news, The Sun, has since announced that it's to put up a paywall for online access to its content in all its forms as well. Note that this newspaper is also part of the Murdoch empire, so this isn't really surprising.
techngaming comment
To me, one of the worst things about a paywall, isn't necessarily the money, but the way it limits information, creating artificial silos all over the internet that it sits in. After all, say I read an interesting article on some website with a paywall, I will either have a subscription for it or the article will have unfettered access to it for a limited time, I then can't link to it for further discussion in places like emails, Facebook or a forum like techngaming, because the recipient won't be able to read it - unless they pay. All these are restrictions in the pursuit of money, at the cost of the good for everyone.
This severe limitation will kill off the internet's main attraction of access to vast stores of information with just a few mouse clicks and will help to turn it into the closed propietary "broadcast" only system that these mega corporations so lust after in order to make themselves even richer at our expense. Not a great future, is it?
So, is putting up a paywall the best thing to do for a website? How would you feel if techngaming.com put a paywall for our news stories?
Let us know in the comments.
Since News International, run by Rupert Murdoch, The New York Times put up its paywall a couple of years ago, an increasing number of other online publications have started doing the same and it appears that the trend is accelerating. Six months ago, Ebuyline reported on how more and more newspapers are moving over to a paywall model and the kind of paywalls that some of those papers implemented.
Now, British newspaper The Telegraph have announced that they are also putting up a paywall - but have cleverly avoided the loaded word "paywall" in their announcement. In fact they are spinning it to make making it sound like a "feature" for their loyal readers, when in reality you just have to start paying good money for what you previously had for free. Here's how the paywall will work:
Subscribers to the print edition will automatically have unlimited access to all online content, along with free access to the tablet edition and use of their iPad and smartphone apps.
Non-subscribers will get a taster of the content before being asked to pony up money:
Readers who are not subscribers will continue to get access to 20 free articles a month on telegraph.co.uk. To go beyond that limit, readers will be invited to choose between two digital subscription packages; our Web Pack, which combines unlimited web access with our smartphone apps, for £1.99 a month; or our full Digital Pack, which includes our tablet editions, for £9.99 a month.
The Telegraph isn't the only British newspaper to start charging for online content, either. That glorious British treasure of high quality tabloid news, The Sun, has since announced that it's to put up a paywall for online access to its content in all its forms as well. Note that this newspaper is also part of the Murdoch empire, so this isn't really surprising.
techngaming comment
To me, one of the worst things about a paywall, isn't necessarily the money, but the way it limits information, creating artificial silos all over the internet that it sits in. After all, say I read an interesting article on some website with a paywall, I will either have a subscription for it or the article will have unfettered access to it for a limited time, I then can't link to it for further discussion in places like emails, Facebook or a forum like techngaming, because the recipient won't be able to read it - unless they pay. All these are restrictions in the pursuit of money, at the cost of the good for everyone.
This severe limitation will kill off the internet's main attraction of access to vast stores of information with just a few mouse clicks and will help to turn it into the closed propietary "broadcast" only system that these mega corporations so lust after in order to make themselves even richer at our expense. Not a great future, is it?
So, is putting up a paywall the best thing to do for a website? How would you feel if techngaming.com put a paywall for our news stories?
Let us know in the comments.