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Wired News has a story up today on BugMeNot.com and other services that help visitors get around the sign-in requirements at news sites like LATimes.com. In the piece, the LAT's Elaine Zinngrabe, general manager of latimesinteractive.com, says she knows that visitors find the registration aggravating.
"I think if people are annoyed at anything, it's that it takes them the minute or whatever they have to do it," she said. "I'm sympathetic to it. We're constantly looking at how to make the process easier."Zinngrabe sees registration as a sort of trade off for viewing online content. She's not thrilled about BugMeNot and services like it, but said she's not worried about users sharing login information. This is, in part, because the Los Angeles Times' site lets users personalize their news by signing up for newsletters and getting local weather.
"It doesn't make you necessarily want to share, because you want to get what you want to get, and you don't want other people messing around with that or changing it or whatever," she said.
No word in the story on that rumored plan to stop charging for Calendar stories and columns. For what it's worth, I'm not aware of any spam I get that originates with the LAT site, and I don't see the popups anymore since installing the Google toolbar. The cookie takes care of logging me in 90% of the time, so the step doesn't affect me. What bugs me are sites where I have to re-register repeatedly.
Link via I Want Media
Ugh, but does the Google bar knock out the annoying in-page Flash ads? I think Tribune realizes everyone is blocking pop-ups, so now they've changed tactics, a la spammers S e XP i LL s technique used to avoid filters. It'll be a constant back and forth. I block one type of ad, they come up with another.
Posted by: Falshy at July 20, 2004 03:29 PMWhile I don't care much for the registrations required for the large newspaper sites, I really hate the small newspapers that force you to register to view their content. Fortunately, the universal laexaminer/laexaminer works well (except at the LA Times and at the Washington Post).
Posted by: Robert Chang at July 20, 2004 09:53 PMFalshy, you should really check out the Firefox browser from Mozilla.org. In addition to blocking popup ads by default and not being susceptible to the security issues that Internet Explorer is, people have written some custom extensions that among other things allow you to intercept those flash movies so that you can decide if they should play, integration with bugmenot so that you can right click and lookup a login for the site you are on, and the ability to right-click and remove an annoying flashing ad. It is by far the best browser out there.
Posted by: iupula at July 22, 2004 06:43 AM
of LA Observed
My blog readers frequently complain about not being able to access articles to which I link because of registration requirements. LAT, NYT, the SJ Merc, and the Wash Post all require log ins. The SF Chron doesn't. My point to them exactly what you've said, Kevin - I don't get spam from any of the registration-required site (or a spike in spam from registering at newspaper sites), cookies keep me logged on almost always, and it really isn't that big a deal. (the Wash Times, however, has resulted in spam - so watch out there).
Frankly, I'll gladly register if it means free access to the nation's papers. I don't have the time or money to suppor a $5 Sunday NYT each week from Starbucks or whatnot.
The paid Calendar content, however, is ridiculous.
Also, what does it say about what news-consumers value? Here, take this factual world event stuff free, but if you want something you really care about - like Mary Kate's latest rehab news or a new club opening, it's gonna cost ya.
Posted by: cd at July 20, 2004 01:51 PM