Category: Media (Page 8 of 8)

The Economist writes about weblogs this week. Alas, no mention of their weblogging design director. *clearing throat*

A new OJR article (and relevant snippy Metafilter thread) discusses the rising number of media Web sites forcing users to register before they can read articles.

I have no problems with this policy, but I do think it’s less than ideal. While I’ve been happily registered on nytimes.com for years and years, I grumbled recently when I hit barriers on latimes.com and chicagotribune.com, and I have yet to sign up for either. The necessity must exist before a user is compelled to sign up, and that is not always the case; witness my reluctance to give my data to Web sites I only visit occasionally.

The scheme certainly does work in the long run: Witness the New York Times’ successful revenue streams and its 10-million-strong userbase. But what happened to the ol’ try before I buy (or, more appropriately, before I reveal)?

Fantastic Michael Wolff column in New York Magazine this week: The music industry is becoming the book business.

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, you can buy my book in the UK. And Germany. And France (nudge nudge, Martin). And Japan! Dig it: “The Site Speaks For Itself” is ¥5753 on sale in Tokyo.

SonicBlue has been granted a stay in its attempts to avoid using spyware to monitor its customers.