AOL Announces Walled Garden Plans
from the good-luck dept
As was rumored last week, AOL-Time Warner will be removing some of their content from the web and putting it behind their walled garden so that only AOL subscribers will have access to it. They may eventually offer a fee-plan for non-AOL subscribers to access the material as well. I still think this is a backwards step that is more of a desperation play than a smart business strategy. Business models that depend on taking things away from people and forcing them to pay, rather than adding new, valuable features based on things people like, seem destined for trouble.
Comments on “AOL Announces Walled Garden Plans”
No Subject Given
What will they call this new service? Hmmm, I think “Pathfinder” is still available.
So, basically all they’ve learned in 8 years is how to become retro-stupid.
Content linked to connection fee
Hmmm… sounds like AOL/TW is taking a page from our earlier conversation, tying the access to the content with their connection fees.
Why is it such a bad idea then?
Re: Content linked to connection fee
They’re going the wrong way… by blocking content.
The content should be open. That’s what attracts people to sign up for the connection fees. By blocking off the content from some, they’re making that content less useful, and less valuable.
No Subject Given
Don’t know how retro it is…
They market is evolving. Once, the Web was cool and vast, making closed content limited and expensive compared to free.
But today, the web is not-as-cool and a vast mess of uneven content. The public has learned that there’s a lot of junk out there. So it makes sense that the large services can differentiate themselves by providing the service of increasing the signal/noise. They provide a better Web experience by ensuring high-quality content.