ChasNote

“How Not To Get Kids To Read Magazines” from Techdirt: Require them to download special software so that they can receive a free copy of the magazine via email:

“Of course, this comes as the very generation they’re targeting is becoming less reliant on email, preferring things like ’sitemail,’ instant messaging and text messaging as modes of communication. Going to email seems like a strategy from a decade ago. These days, college students are focused on communities: things like MySpace and Facebook. That is, they want to interact with their content, not just have it delivered…. The reason they have to install special software is so that the magazine looks like a traditional paper magazine, basically taking away just about all of the benefit for the magazine to go online. Readers can’t show others the content, or discuss the content. It basically blocks the magazine off — not just by adding hurdles to actually read it (even though it’s supposed to be free!), but by making it difficult to actually use it.” [My emphasis.]