Comments

"To continue reading the page you requested, you must be a subscriber to TimesSelect."

I agree this is progress, and a smidge of validation, but they STILL don't get it. You have to be a subscriber to read their blog? Come on, that's preposterous and is exactly the reasons blogs are so popular. No subscription required, just come on in and let's learn something.

Posted by Phil Gerbyshak at February 6, 2006 2:05 PM

Not sure if NYT gets it or not.

1) No RSS Button.
2) what is Timeselect ?? Is it a blog or a just another newsletter via email ?
3) Why 14 day trial period ?? Should not it be free ??

..nuff said ..keeping it KISS style :)-

Posted by /pd at February 6, 2006 4:33 PM

Sounds to me like NYT is a bit like my Mom aged 76, who just can't yet work out how come computers only work with 'chips' inside them - she can only remember 'chips' as something you eat with fish in England. My Mom is wonderful :-)

NYT can ‘stand and watch’ from the side of the pitch without really playing the game properly and see their customers desert them in droves for the more creative folks in journalism who genuinely open themselves up through Blogs.

Posted by Trevor Gay at February 7, 2006 4:24 AM

I was never able to take the NYT seriously after I discovered (at about age 12) that they didn't have a comics section. And, I had one history professor who stated that if we didn't read the NYT every day we didn't know anything. That was enough to put me off the NYT for good. I think the only reason they make us subscribe to everything is so they can flood our inboxes and mailboxes with solicitations.

Posted by Mike at February 7, 2006 7:14 AM

Sorry, I have Times Select so I didn't realize it was only for subscribers. I should have had a friend try it out to make sure that anyone could get in. But to me it means that blogging can't be ignored by the biggest, most established media. That traditional media must admit that there is a new way to air information. And that their business has been changed forever.

Posted by cathy at February 7, 2006 9:22 AM

I don't have Times Select - and neither do I want it... my interests aren't wide enough. And the fact that I can't read the thing is no problem.

Point here is simple... we'll all be better off when we stop expecting stuff to be free.

Ever tried getting a free burger/fries/coke at McDonalds? 'Seth who?' says giving stuff away is a really good way to build a business.

And, last thing I heard, Mercedes weren't giving away a free set of alloys as an inducement for me to pony-up for the 280SL.

So let's get real and with a yay-hooray for NYT for slamming the doors on freeloaders.

Posted by gulliver at February 7, 2006 9:42 AM

Cathy, I totally agree with you on that !! The battle between MSM vs Blogsphere is still raging !!

Gulliver : I dont mind paying for a blog feed from NYT/WashingtonPost or any other MSM - the fact is that they are reporting in a bais manner and needless to say are also either rightwing or leftwing .. Not sure where you located, but thats the same in everyn MSM, their reporting supports on Party as an undertone. SEcondly, their fact Checking sucks.. So in conclusion, let them give me free feeds first for evualtion first.. 14 days trial - no problem.. me is game.. !!

Posted by /pd at February 7, 2006 3:35 PM

Blogs and "giving stuff away" - This website is TP giving stuff away and he obviously feels it builds business. Free samples build many businesses (mine included). Think of a Blog as a "free sample" - no subscription, no obligation .... The NYT haven't latched onto this vital concept yet.

Posted by Mike L at February 8, 2006 1:26 AM

Why is it so important for bloggers to be "accepted" or for big media to admit that blogs are a "new way to air information?" If you are looking for respect, acceptance, or even an audience, then you aren't blogging for the right reasons. Blogs and newspapers are really apples and oranges.

Why does there have to be a battle between the blogosphere and mainstream media? I don't understand why that is an issue. That makes as much sense as the continuing battle between "mainstream" doctors and chiropractors. Aren't they all just parts of the same whole?

Posted by Mike at February 8, 2006 7:20 AM

Mike, an interesting study was just conducted in Ireland that shows over 60 percent of teens here use search and the Internet as the primary source to get their information. Unfortunately, they buy into whatever they find, considering it all reliable information.

While there shouldn't be a battle between MSM and blogs/Internet, it's not necessarily apples and oranges. There is a shift occuring in how people are getting their 'news'. Broadsheets simply can't keep up with the pace of events in the same way that the Internet can. They also fail to provide a mechanism where people can interact and respond in a timely fashion to issues. This lack of discussion and the inability to dig deeper into a story, linking to other sources, etc. shows the limitations of the broadsheet in a content hungry culture.

Still, I love to hold a newspaper in my hands when I'm having my first cup of joe in the morning.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 8, 2006 9:06 AM

Quality comes late??? or Last but not the Least???

Posted by K.Sriram at February 8, 2006 11:52 PM