An exciting turn of events in the free online news world. Google has put limits that companies can set on their website that will limit how many free articles viewers can see. This comes at a very prevalent time because as it is right now, the newspaper industry has started to fail, and even major newspaper companies are cutting back because they cannot compete with the amount of free news that is circulating on the internet.
BBC reports (here) that Google has updated their program so that publishes can limit users so at most five free pages a day. This will stop users from cheating the system by using Google as a way around the costs in order to view articles that would normally require payment to view.
This comes after Rupert Murdoch accused such companies as Google for generating revenue through advertisement on multiple articles without limiting them.
This may be the future of news, websites where people pay for their stories, and while the idea is very close to that of newspapers,
There goes my news reading... I say we just let newspapers go the way of the dodo
ReplyDeleteThe minute a society has to be pay to stay informed, you know something isn't right...
ReplyDeleteI think at the end of the day, newspaper companies deserve to make a buck for all the hard work that goes into getting accurate information. Of course, people can always find free news no matter what Google tries to do.
ReplyDeleteHaven't we always had to pay to be informed though? Think about it, back in the day it was newspapers and recently it has shifted to magazines like the Economist etc. To be properly informed we need sources like this. It's especially important that we pay for it also because without that funding who is going to do the dirty work and cover a story if there is nothing in it for him/her?
ReplyDeletewho reads a newspaper anyway? like an actual, physical newspaper? probably the same people who still use paper maps and phone books.
ReplyDeleteThat's noodles!
ReplyDeleteI really like the hardcopy newspapers in the morning. Also, the newspapers are loosing money and deserve to make a profit for their work. But to get around google's newly implemented restrictions, couldn't one just change their IP address to read on?
ReplyDeleteWith the advent of radio, television, and the World Wide Web, information has clearly gone the path of becoming a free resource. At the same time, the quality and type of information is degrading/branching; we need to balance our need for information that matters with our need for information to be what it idealistically should be: available to everyone regardless.
ReplyDelete