YOU CAN'T PUT THE TOOTHPASTE BACK IN THE TUBE


For many, many years the newspaper industry got it right. They were making tons of money, much of it coming from a cash cow called classifieds. The Internet came along and with it a chance to post a classified ad at no charge .... free. It was the loss leader to attract the currency of the web ... traffic and eyeballs.

As the newspapers held ground for paid placements, the cash cow began to go dry.

Today, the drama is focusing on content. What exactly is content? And what exactly are readers willing to pay for?

When the New York Times decided to provide their content to web readers for free, they let the toothpaste out of the tube. What will it take to get the toothpaste back in?

My commentary in today's Media Life Magazine sets the stage for a discussion that has already begun to heat up in the press.

Your comments and thoughts are encouraged.

1 comment:

Allan Hoving said...

What it will take, Paul, is a technological solution that makes it easy for Publishers and Content Providers to sell their content, while making it easy for Users/Readers to support the content they love (i.e. pay for it). See my proposal at http://www.PayCheckr.com