Paying for Your Favorite Sites (Freep Alert!)

WSJ ^ | 1/13/03 | TIM HANRAHAN AND JASON FRY

[Drango]

FREE OR FEE: Back in 1996, we used to go to New York City tech fetes -- because after a long day at the office, we were eager to soak up news and insight from all the bright young things promoting their start-ups. (In other words, there was free booze.) But because we worked for one of the first sites on the Web to try a subscription model, at many shindigs we'd wind up fending off an angry young techie or two who'd inform us that we were killing the Internet.

[Drango]

So what do you think? Send us your list of daily sites (as well as services, if you like) that you'd pay $1 a week for, and why -- as well as any general thoughts you have on this issue. We'll run some comments and lists in Real Time Exchange later this week.

FreeRepublic is well worth $52 per year IMHO and I plan to tell the WSJ so.

[Mr. K]

I wish Free Republic would do this (maybe $25 each)

and also search for a private funding- to expand and grow the site.

This site is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more important than salon.com and gets only a fraction of the publicity.

I would hate to see it die from lack of green...

[Drango]

I wish Free Republic would do this

I don't think FreeRepublic would or should ever go to a forced subscription model. If the majority of people would voluntarily pledge a nickel a day...it will do just fine.

[KarlInOhio]

This site is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more important than salon.com and gets only a fraction of the publicity.

Yeah, but for only a buck or two a week you could own Salon in a couple of years. Does anyone have the obligatory Salon stock chart?

[ken5050]

The article misses the key point.....there are many sites I'd pay for, but just how many.....?...That, as they say, s the key question...as a political junkie like many on here...there are about 10 or so sites that I would check on each day...I'd pay something for them..but $520/year ( i.e. $52 x 10 ).....no way.....one of my faves....RollCall, just went subscription......I'll do without......

[Drango]

I'm gonna miss Roll Call. The Hill is a poor substitute.

[Straight Vermonter]

Got it:

[Anti-Bubba182]

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[PAR35]

I generally quit visiting a site when it requires "free" registration. Google and FR are the only two sites I can think of where I would consider paying.

[MrLeRoy]

I generally quit visiting a site when it requires "free" registration.

Why? Concerned about spam?

[tubebender]

I already give more than 52 bucks a year to FR but the only other one I might pay for is JAYSKI a collection of NASCAR news and gossip. Oh, and EBAY of course if they forced it on me.

[Billthedrill]

A Fundraising BTT. What's FR worth? Well, what would someone pay to get it back if it went?

[dixierose]

Wow..another JAYSKI fan. I'm not sure I'd pay for that service though.

[PAR35]

Why? Concerned about spam?

That is the primary reason. I have no problem with SPAM because of my diligence in this area. In addition, I do have secondary email accounts when an email address is needed.

The other concern is privacy. What I get in return has to be worth what I pay in loss of privacy. For example, I did trade personal information for a free EFax account for occasional incoming faxes at home. There are enough free newspapers on the web that I don't have to pay with information for the few that require it.

I realize that I could easily lie on the registration forms; I was just raised to be too honest, I suppose.

[tubebender]

Wow..another JAYSKI fan. I'm not sure I'd pay for that service though.

I probably wouldn't either. (I just sad that to be cool) Hell, I won't pay $36 to Classmates.com and there are 5 members of my HS class of 51 listed.