Back in March, the NY Times put up a paywall. And… suddenly what was free, wasn’t. It didn’t bother me… I read the NY Times religiously and figure it was about time I pay for it. After all, I believe the NY Times is the best newspaper in America.
Then, they released their ridiculously expensive pricing. $35 / month is a punch in the stomach! I can’t afford to read the NY Times and that sucks.
So, I stopped reading the Times on my iPad each morning and stopped visiting their website at that time of day when I need a news fix. Each morning I continue to receive their daily email and am reminded of the punch in the stomach.
But, over the past few months I’ve made a discovery. Their paywall is so porous, it basically doesn’t exist. Looking back over the last three months, when I’ve encountered a story that I really want to read, I visit the website and I can read the story. I’m not offered a subscription nor do I see any reason to pay for one. Perhaps they lost a lot of traffic and throttled back on all their limits? Perhaps the paywall wasn’t that strict before? I’m not sure… but unless I try to access content on the iPad or iPhone, I’m not restricted in any way and I can appreciate.
So… why implement digital subscriptions in the first place? I suppose all they wanted was to punch me in the stomach.
Finding Nilay 