We subscribe to magazines, we subscribe to cable or satellite, we subscribe to newspapers, but subscribing to online content is still looked at in a strange way. I don’t actually know anyone that subscribes to Slate… everyone just opts to watch the ad instead.
But there are two places I’ve “subscribed” recently that show that my own ideas about the concept of subscriptions are morphing. In one case, I pay $4 a month to help support a free podcast that I like and in return I get a “subscriber” podcast that’s password protected. The other is by a book publisher. You subscribe for $20/month of a minimum of three months and you get all the titles that they publish during that timeframe shipped to you. It’s a way of showing a comittment and in return, you get brand new books pretty cheaply. In fact, the value of the first month’s worth of books (and a DVD) comes to about what I paid for the entire three months.
I guess I like the concept of getting most everything for free, optionally showing your support financially, and then getting a little somethign extra in return. It’s the public television model set to different music.
Do you subscribe to any non-traditional services?
Posted in Technology