Today's New York Times features an OP-ED article questioning the viability of AOL's latest model, "AOL's Bottom-Line".
For whole article see nytimes.com
"America Online's troubles recall what happened to Look, Life and other
major magazines in the 1970's. These publications kept lowering
subscription prices to keep circulation high in a vain attempt to compete
with TV for advertising. After spending millions to attract record numbers
of readers, some magazines went under."
"For America Online, the test will come after it pacifies its present
customers and attracts millions more. The real question is whether
advertisers will pay to reach them."
"It's not clear that they will. So far, only software sellers and Web site
designers have prospered by doing business on the Internet. On-line
entrepreneurs, including media companies, are reduced to offering samples
of their wares and trolling for off-line orders."
"Because the equipment is relatively cheap and no government license is
needed, the Internet has spawned a multitude of instant publishers. (So
much for A. J. Liebling's complaint: "Freedom of the press is guaranteed
only to those who own one.") What carries the imprimatur of established
publishers and broadcasters and recognized institutions is only a fraction of
the flood of fact and pseudo-fact."
"Surfing these Web offerings, members of the Net Generation feel they are
controlling their search for information. They can bypass unwanted ads
merely by not clicking the teaser on the Web site they are visiting. It's
easier than zapping TV commercials with a remote control. But all the
information competing for attention makes it hard for regular surfers to
absorb or evaluate material that might be useful. Though they have the
illusion of freedom of choice, they may be suffering from what Lewis
Mumford called "deprivation by surfeit."
"That itself poses a problem for advertisers. In addition, the interactive
nature of the medium, which encourages jumping from one Web site to
another, makes it hard to pin down an audience."
"Even after the overcrowding ends, America Online and the eager patrons
at its all-you-can-eat buffet may discover that, in the information industry,
there is no free lunch."
Really nothing new here, except that it's in the Times, which makes it harder to dismiss.
Regards |
