Comments on: What The Free Wall Street Journal Might Look Like http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/ Entrepreneurship, Startup Companies and Business Philosophy Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:54:25 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Brian http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2834 Brian Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:24:48 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2834 Sure they have an incentive - Their readership commands a very high premimum. They aren't going to lose it. Sure they have an incentive – Their readership commands a very high premimum. They aren’t going to lose it.

]]> By: Rob http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2833 Rob Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:46:01 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2833 If it's an additional million people, I agree, they will probably make it up in ad revenue, but the numbers I've seen tossed around are 10-15 million. That's a lot of people and I question whether that many people want the kind of content the WSJ provides. But all that aside... don't you think there is a valid case for saying that if you are ad supported, there is a tendency to do whatever it takes to boost that traffic number, even if it means catering more to content of mass market interest? Surely we can agree that an article on new FASB standards is not going to get 15MM views. So the question is, why will the WSJ continue to write those types of articles? They have no incentive for it anymore. If it’s an additional million people, I agree, they will probably make it up in ad revenue, but the numbers I’ve seen tossed around are 10-15 million. That’s a lot of people and I question whether that many people want the kind of content the WSJ provides.

But all that aside… don’t you think there is a valid case for saying that if you are ad supported, there is a tendency to do whatever it takes to boost that traffic number, even if it means catering more to content of mass market interest?

Surely we can agree that an article on new FASB standards is not going to get 15MM views. So the question is, why will the WSJ continue to write those types of articles? They have no incentive for it anymore.

]]> By: Brian http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2832 Brian Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:17:35 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2832 "Lots of sites have trouble finding enough of a mass audience to make their content creation costs justifiable. Search is a non-scalable solution for traffic." Well Rob we can disagree about this. It's not just the traffic from search. I don't think you realize how minimal the revenue from subscriptions are relative to the ad revenue. I ran a magazine with 300,000 audited monthly circulation. Our "subscribers" were just a way offsetting the mailing cost to them. “Lots of sites have trouble finding enough of a mass audience to make their content creation costs justifiable. Search is a non-scalable solution for traffic.”

Well Rob we can disagree about this. It’s not just the traffic from search. I don’t think you realize how minimal the revenue from subscriptions are relative to the ad revenue. I ran a magazine with 300,000 audited monthly circulation. Our “subscribers” were just a way offsetting the mailing cost to them.

]]> By: Rob http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2831 Rob Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:31:14 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2831 Brian, Yes, I realize they expose more pages to search engines, but that doesn't mean instant traffic. If the WSJ needs to increase traffic by 15x to make up for the lost subscription revenue, there may not be enough interest. I could write free content about accounting rules all day, and I'm never going to get 15MM people to read it, no matter how free or well indexed it is. That's my point. Lots of sites have trouble finding enough of a mass audience to make their content creation costs justifiable. Search is a non-scalable solution for traffic. There are only so many searches for "off balance sheet transactions" and other things the WSJ writes about. What happens if, by going free, they increase traffic by 8x, and that isn't enough to make up for the revenue? Well, then they are forced to write things for search engines, to stuff their articles with more of the keywords people are searching for, and to stop writing about low search items like accounting rules changes and more about high search items like Britney Spears. Brian,
Yes, I realize they expose more pages to search engines, but that doesn’t mean instant traffic. If the WSJ needs to increase traffic by 15x to make up for the lost subscription revenue, there may not be enough interest. I could write free content about accounting rules all day, and I’m never going to get 15MM people to read it, no matter how free or well indexed it is. That’s my point.

Lots of sites have trouble finding enough of a mass audience to make their content creation costs justifiable. Search is a non-scalable solution for traffic. There are only so many searches for “off balance sheet transactions” and other things the WSJ writes about. What happens if, by going free, they increase traffic by 8x, and that isn’t enough to make up for the revenue? Well, then they are forced to write things for search engines, to stuff their articles with more of the keywords people are searching for, and to stop writing about low search items like accounting rules changes and more about high search items like Britney Spears.

]]> By: Brian http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2830 Brian Thu, 22 Nov 2007 01:35:18 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2830 Actually Rob that's not true at all. By simply exposing the content to search engines and getting rid of the subscription model you will significantly increase ad revenue without changing content. You do realize that most of the content of the journal isn't exposed deeply to the search engines - wsj.com has 143,000 pages indexed in Google which is nothing for site of that size. WSJ won't have to do anything to the content - just making it available is sufficient. Murdoch may make the Journal more mainstream but that's Murdoch. The Internet hasn't been entirely receptive to subscription business models since it artificially limits your eyeball count. Actually Rob that’s not true at all. By simply exposing the content to search engines and getting rid of the subscription model you will significantly increase ad revenue without changing content. You do realize that most of the content of the journal isn’t exposed deeply to the search engines – wsj.com has 143,000 pages indexed in Google which is nothing for site of that size. WSJ won’t have to do anything to the content – just making it available is sufficient. Murdoch may make the Journal more mainstream but that’s Murdoch. The Internet hasn’t been entirely receptive to subscription business models since it artificially limits your eyeball count.

]]> By: Rob http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2829 Rob Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:44:09 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2829 Brian, Yes, but that's not the point. The point of the post is that in order to get more ad views, the WSJ will have to create more mass market content, thus lowering the quality of the paper. Brian,
Yes, but that’s not the point. The point of the post is that in order to get more ad views, the WSJ will have to create more mass market content, thus lowering the quality of the paper.

]]> By: Brian Despain http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2828 Brian Despain Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:45:46 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2828 I am willing to bet that Murdoch has run the numbers and feels he can get more ad views to more than make up for the loss of paying subscriptions. Rupert Murdoch knows what he is doing. I am willing to bet that Murdoch has run the numbers and feels he can get more ad views to more than make up for the loss of paying subscriptions. Rupert Murdoch knows what he is doing.

]]> By: raj http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2827 raj Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:20:56 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2827 It'll look like that anyways, simply b/c Rupert Murdoch is taking over. You forgot: News Anchor Girls Gone Wild It’ll look like that anyways, simply b/c Rupert Murdoch is taking over.

You forgot: News Anchor Girls Gone Wild

]]> By: Dave http://www.businesspundit.com/what-the-free-wall-street-journal-might-look-like/comment-page-1/#comment-2826 Dave Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:20:36 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=3397#comment-2826 As the Wall Street Journal has become a mouthpiece for the righ, its content has become increasingly suspect. Bad business insues, so what difference will any of this really make. As the Wall Street Journal has become a mouthpiece for the righ, its content has become increasingly suspect. Bad business insues, so what difference will any of this really make.

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