Can paywalls work?
They are going in the opposite way to the natural traffic, the natural flow of digital, which is all about mutualization, about increasing scale, about building communities.
We don’t think the paying-for-content mechanics work for us. That’s not to say it won’t work for Murdoch. He’s got a bigger spread of different properties (he’s got Sky, Fox, Penguin Books). I don’t know how they are planning to charge for content, but I am sure it will involve some very clever packaging by the very clever guys who work at News International. And if he does turn it round, if he makes it work, then we reserve the right to change our mind.
What will News International’s paywalls mean for you?
It’s going to be an interesting time for us because it’s obviously no secret that if Murdoch starts charging for his sites in the UK, then what happens to our traffic? It goes up. We can monetize that. And gain influence. And reach out to different people. And build our communities. So it could be a very interesting time for us.
Parole Fatti Pensieri