Sawyer Paul's Blog, page 135
February 24, 2012
Unrelated note
I think business can use advertising to make money, and they can charge their customers directly to make money. I also think they can do both. When I buy a magazine, I pay several dollars for it, and I understand that a good portion of it will be advertising. Sometimes that's irksome and sometimes it isn't (it really depends on the ads), but I understand that not all business models function with direct payment particularly well.
But there's something unnerving about the model where there are ads for "free" customers, and no ads for paying customers. On paper, you'd think this would be the best of both worlds, but in practice I feel like the content producer is actually insulting three different sets of customers.
1) It's insulting to the non-paying customer, because the content is being supported by advertising that seems tacked on because the producer "knows" I am too cheap to actually pay for it. It's a judgement business decision.
2) It's insulting to the paying customer, because it isn't really VIP treatment if I have to sign in and go through a walled-garden approach to get a product that I pay for. I feel like if I pay for something, I should get to keep it and do what I like with it, which is almost never the case with these business models.
3) It's insulting to the advertiser, because it tells them I'm only using them to punish and scam my non-paying customers, and I've taken the work to build part of my platform wagering the annoyance of ads against "real money."
I can absolutely see the other side of this argument, and I know there are holes in this. But this "ads for free/no ads for money" approach just feels dishonest to me.
To me, it comes down to, if you're not directly paying for the product, then you are the product. I don't think either are necessarily good or bad, but giving the customer the choice is unnerving.
Love, Honor, and Obey
From Futility Closet:
In 1769, inspired by Rousseau's Émile, British author Thomas Day set out to train the perfect wife. He adopted foundlings of 11 and 12 years old, named them Sabrina and Lucretia, and took them to France, where he tried to rear them in isolation.
It fell apart within 18 months. When the girls began to quarrel and tease him, he returned to England, placed Lucretia with a chamber milliner, and concentrated on Sabrina. But she screamed when he fired pistols at her petticoats (trying, at Rousseau's suggestion, to accustom her to "détonations les plus terribles"), and she winced unheroically when he dropped sealing wax on her arms. Finally he released her to a boarding school, where in time she grew up to be "an elegant and amiable woman."
In 1780, Day finally did find a wife who "often wept but never repined" at his "frequent experiments upon her temper and attachment." But even that didn't last — he died, ironically, while trying to break a horse.
So….maybe don't let Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney be President, k guys?
Not feeling bad enough this morning? Don't worry, the...
Not feeling bad enough this morning? Don't worry, the Globe's Life section will depress you right up.
February 23, 2012
michellelegro:
I know I say this each and every time, but this...
I know I say this each and every time, but this might be the best issue yet.
Spread the word! Our Spring issue "Means of Communication" will hit stories (and subscribers) on March 15th.
If you love monks complaining about illuminations, tweets from Tahrir, Martin Luther going viral, circular conversations with robots, wireless boys, and Marshall McLucan being all Marshall McLuhany, then you will love this issue.
Seriously, SUBSCRIBE already. We'll send you the issue by pony express.*
*Shipping and handing and oats not included.
My favourite Mac app of 2011 just got a major upgrade. Which...
My favourite Mac app of 2011 just got a major upgrade. Which means I do a lot more. Sweet!
February 22, 2012
Is that your blood?
Some of it, yeah.
Is that your blood?
Some of it, yeah.
Blog of Shame: A Girl You Should Date
Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you're better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.
"We should worry less about how people get their books and — say it with me now! — just be glad that..."
- NPR's Jonathan Segura arguing against e-books vs. print arguments. (via themasqueradecrew)
