First The Times and now everyone’s at it!

First The Times and now everyone’s at it!

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I understand that websites need to make money but is anyone else noticed that more and more business sites are asking for £££ to access them?

I was always dubious about the Times charging £1 per week but I noticed this morning that Accountancy AGE are limiting my access to 8 pages before I have to pay. Can I say that I get £95 worth of value from Accountancy AGE in a year? I don’t honestly know.

I’ve paid for the economist before but stopped when I realised that I wasn’t going to it enough to warrant the money. I guess if you’re halfway through an article and it’s great then you will pay to read the rest but paying upfront when you don’t know what’s coming is another matter.

I expect most sites will go this way in the end - just a matter of how long?

Replies (26)

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By Steve Holloway
12th Mar 2012 15:44

That's because people want to be paid to write it!

Unfortunate but generally the case in life. 

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By taxhound
12th Mar 2012 15:59

But

Accountancy Age was always free when they sent it through the post....

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By thisistibi
12th Mar 2012 15:59

It's being a long time coming

It used to be the case that news websites were supported by the purchase of paper copies.  These days, I suspect more people read the websites than those actually buying the paper copies.  The Times and the FT made a brave move being the first to charge.  But at least for the Times (don't know much about the FT), it seems to have paid off.  Now it makes sense for others to follow suit.

People are used to paying to buy a paper, why is it any different paying to buy a paper on the internet?

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Replying to WhichTyler:
By Lord Paul
12th Mar 2012 16:25

Paper

But when you pay for the paper your money is going to pay for the fact that it's printed and distributed. Surely, when you look at a website it's much cheaper (and they make their money selling advertising)?

I guess there is always the arguement that if you pay for it then the articles are of much higher quality - which begs the questions of which one do you pay for.

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Replying to WhichTyler:
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By RussellD
13th Mar 2012 09:09

FT Managing Editor talk

thisistibi wrote:

But at least for the Times (don't know much about the FT), it seems to have paid off.  Now it makes sense for others to follow suit.

I was at a talk by the Managing Editor of the FT last week and not only is it working, they have managed to increase the price a number of times with no impact on readership figures - so they plan to increase it further.  Apparently one of the directors was getting his morning coffee from Starbucks and realised that to get someone (presumably low skilled) to make him a fresh coffee cost him more than it cost his readers to get expert stories on a specialist subject from highly trained (and paid) writers all around the globe...

 

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By User deleted
12th Mar 2012 16:33

Pity they don't take a lead from ...

Tim Berners-Lee - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee

Now if he & others of his generation had decided to charge ...

It is generally those who come after innovation who try to capitalise on it for their own benefit - i.e. M$ Visicalc into Excel etc.

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By BOD
12th Mar 2012 18:34

£95 for Accountancy Age?

 

Are they really charging £95 for Accountancy Age? As above it was free when printed paid for by the adverts and there are online ads on the site?

I used to read it/flick through when printed but hardly ever open it when it's emailed. Pay for Economist/FT yes/maybe but AA I don't think so...

 

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By Ding Dong
13th Mar 2012 09:24

probably always the plan

I believe, the Times, Accountancy Age and others all offered us free access to get us "relying" on their site or using it as our default and then once we were all "sucked in" they would introduce the notional charge that we will say "oh well it isn't that much" to.

I have recently had that with microsoft office live who I have been using for 2/3 years. They have just said I need to subscribe to office 365 instead - which I probably will - as they are closing office live now we are all "on board".

Very clever marketing!

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John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
13th Mar 2012 11:10

No clever marketing ploys at AccountingWEB.co.uk

This is a fascinating development and one that has both strengthened our confidence in AccountingWEB's community-based content model and advanced our plans to develop it.

We realised a long, long time ago that the most valuable content on the site comes from our members sharing information and advice. As accountants on the front line of business and taxation, you know much more than those of us behind the scenes at Aweb about the issues that you face every day. That is the core of the AccountingWEB community ethos. What we try to do editorially is flag up important issues as they break, give you the essential facts and let you get on with debating the significance and most suitable responses to the challenges that come to light.

Most of our funding comes from advertisers who want to be part of this community too, and who want to reach you with targeted, relevant messages about the services and expertise they can provide. We're very proud that many of them do so with useful whitepapers, webinars and other initiatives that add to the sum of the community's knowledge.

With a few occasional exceptions, AccountingWEB has been in profit since 2002, and the revenue we generate allows us to invest in extra content to help members in their day-to-day working lives, for example from tax editor Rebecca Benneyworth, company secretary Jennifer Adams, practice editor Mark Lee, Excel guru Simon Hurst and financial reporting lecturer Steve Collings.

With the latest news from Accy Age, and the increasing prevalence of online paywalls around technical tax material, we are now ramping up our plans to increase this sort of content so that we can cater for the majority of our members' needs without requring them to pay a fee. As AccountingWEB founder Ben Heald tweeted to disaffected Age readers, "Come on over to AccountingWEB.co.uk - the content is communal, nutritious and free!"

We are not averse to diversifying into new areas, products and premium services for which we charge. You will find these initiatives at shop.accountingweb.co.uk and they will tend to be offerings that we think bring additional value to the free-to-air AccountingWEB material.

But the core relationship you have with us remains paramount, and apart from making AccountingWEB a more essential part of your lives in the months to come, we have no other plans to change that.

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By jimeth
14th Mar 2012 11:33

I never pay

I am sure that I am not alone in simply looking elswhere for information as soon as I hit a paywall.

I think I would have difficulty in recovering subscription costs from my employer and I am not prepared to pay for them personally.

At the moment there are still plenty of free sources.  I would certainly object to paying and still being flooded with intrusive advertising (I do not subscribe to pay TV) as then it appears that I am paying twice.  If I paid for access to a webpage then I would expect advertising to be much less intrusive than if it was free.

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7om
By Tom 7000
14th Mar 2012 11:44

Accountancy

I remember when accountancy was free too as the Journal of the ICAEW...well you felt you got something for your subs...then you had to pay....oh but now theres Economia or whatever they send

 

 

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By dwgw
14th Mar 2012 11:54

The big issue

It's the continuing internet dilemma.  Ultimately, someone has to pay and, at the moment, that means either advertisers, subscribers or a combination of the two.  Ideally, we wouldn't have to pay for access to the medium (ie the internet itself) but would then pay for created content (as opposed to social media, gossip and opinion).

Idealists might want everything on the internet to be free but then they're probably not trying to make a living from the provision of "content", be it informative or creative.  When they extend their idealism to giving all their own work away for nothing then I might have more time for their argument.

That's not to say that everything should be paid for.  I think it's essential that the internet remains a medium for free access to, and exchange of, ideas and information but there's no reason why that shouldn't run in parallel to paid-for services and products.  However, I think the FT director's argument that their product should cost more than a single cup of coffee is fallacious and economically dubious - which makes me wonder about our paid-for FT subscription! 

Expertise deserves to be rewarded by payment, opinions and chat are free and don't.

 

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By The Black Knight
14th Mar 2012 12:11

it's all free on the internet.

I have not read Accountancy Age since it went electronic.

Having learned to live without it I no longer miss it.

I still pay for other publications that have gone electronic, but do not read like I used to so their value is now questionable.

Is it just me or is it easier to pick up a paper version and read and digest in a comfortable arm chair, rather than pressing ones face against a computer screen or squinting on the I phone.

As I explained to our text book providers we pay for the printing because I like a hard copy of the Taxes acts and Companies acts etc

If it is all electronic then this is already provided free by the government on line, and I can print my own copy.

Whether newspapers have a future or not is a different matter as those that witness an event can now report on line using a mobile phone all it needs is a site to upload it to.

The only thing a newspaper had over a wikipedia thing was some quality, integrity and reliability and they have rather shot themselves in the foot on that score.

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By arnold28
16th Mar 2012 13:13

Nor have I

Accountancy Age was just the right size to read on the train into work. When they went digital I lost interest.

With regards advertising, I found that when they did a PDF version, I just skipped the ads whereas with the paper version once I had the page open I would peruse them.

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By seeroo
14th Mar 2012 12:13

Economist

Apparently you can access the Economist through the ICAEWs library and information service.  If you login and go to the library section of the website you should be able to find it there.

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By dwgw
14th Mar 2012 12:25

Free isn't always good value

"The only thing a newspaper had over a wikipedia thing was some quality, integrity and reliability and they have rather shot themselves in the foot on that score." "

I suggest it's not quite that simple - you overlook the fact that it took the persistence of a newspaper (The Guardian) in the face of institutional resistance and complacency to begin the continuing shake out of bad apples (certain newspapers, their journalists and proprietors, the Met, the Press Complaints Commission, political parties etc).  Wikipedia, for all its many virtues, wouldn't have done that and a Twitter storm won't get started without some flames to fan (excuse the mixed metaphor).

Speed isn't always of the essence when it comes to information.  Sometimes a bit of reflection in slower time is far more valuable.  Bigger picture and all that.  Some things are worth paying for.  

 

 

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7om
By Tom 7000
14th Mar 2012 12:52

sometimes I get mixed up

is this not accountancy age electronic?

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By The Black Knight
14th Mar 2012 13:05

I agree

But can't see why everything has to be online just for the sake of it.

It does tend to cheapen everything.

The good thing about the hassle of online shopping is that you realise you can live without it.

Unless it is something I desperately need, If I can't buy it in a local shop then I no longer bother.

e.g. I used to buy CD's but now have to drive 20 miles to the nearest record store (or go to tesco's which is against my religion)

Cannot see any value in an I Tune so will not pay for records any more.....but I understand those that used to pay download these for free anyway as there many ways of doing this and whilst the people seem to appreciate this is illegal it comes down to whether you get caught or not.

People are astounded that I do not do this, but I would see this as theft.

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By Steve Holloway
14th Mar 2012 14:20

Have you never heard of Amazon Black Knight?

You think of a CD, input the name on Amazon, click checkout and if you have an account the product is on the way to you free of charge at a fraction of the price of the high-street. My record is about 30 seconds from first thought to product on route. Yes its killing HMV but then music is an aural experience and I don't have to look at an empty case to make a buying decision.

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By The Black Knight
14th Mar 2012 14:47

yep but nope

Still don't get it.

Would much rather browse then buy especially with a book.

I also have a vested interest in small business and it's survival, so some of my reluctance to become a plastic person stems from that.

I find stuff on line and then drive to the shop to have a look or buy or perhaps decide I can live without it.

The shop assistant also plays a large part in my buying.......Not very accountant I know !

 

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By Sherman Holter
14th Mar 2012 22:10

London Evening Standard

And as for the argument about the cost of paper and distribution, the London Evening Standard has recently gone free and has INCREASED its circulation.

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By RussellD
15th Mar 2012 09:54

Who is the customer

There is a well known quote floating around the Internet:

If you are not paying for something you're not the customer, you are the product being sold.

Tesco use their club card to understand what you buy, what you are prepared to pay for an item etc. It is 'free' but is used to make sure they can move all their prices up to the point that you are still prepared to pay.

Google collects the content of our emails, the things we are interested based on our search history, the content of our websites and blogs, the videos we watch on youtube, all our contacts etc. etc etc and since the changed terms can now collate all that information so their 'free services' allow them to sell us to whichever advertisers will pay the most.

I love all the free sites and information but wonder if I were to seriously consider the long term implications whether I would prefer to be a customer or a commodity to be sold on?

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By The Black Knight
15th Mar 2012 13:48

vote with your pound

It is the only voting that works.

Clearly £1 in £5 votes for world domination by tesco's and the government gives tokens (child tax credits) for the use thereof. Without which tesco's could not have such low paid staff.......Its all a game.....we can borrow on tomorrows tax receipts ! Are you telling me there aren't any ? well make some !

I have even known small business owners feed the beast that is taking their trade away.

Does anyone know if they know what you are watching on your TV ? I assume in the digital age they do not have volunteers with equipment plugged into the TV any more to establish viewing figures ?

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By hashie09
16th Jan 2015 11:14

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By hashie09
16th Jan 2015 11:17

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By laarns
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