Freaking Freakonomics RSS Feed Controversy
Posted by junger - 08/22/07 at 10:08:31 pmWho'd have thought that RSS feeds could cause such a controversy?
Well, they can. Just ask the subscribers of the Freakonomics blog, formerly an independent blog but now a part of the NY Times media group.
The blog, written by the authors of Freakonomics, the social economics masterpiece (IMHO), has recently switched from full site RSS feeds to partial feeds.
Steven Dubner, author and blogger, admits that the switch came because of the new "partnership" with the NY Times. "Yes, this is a result of our new partnership with NYTimes.com. You can blame the Times if you want, but that would be unfair and imprecise, since this is a partnership, which means that you should also feel free to blame us," he writes.
TechDirt has taken them to task, and pointed out why full site feeds actually increase traffic. "The whole idea is that by making it easier and easier for anyone to read and fully grasp our content, the more likely they are to spread it via word of mouth, and that tends to lead to much greater adoption than by limiting what we give to our readers and begging them to come to our site if they want to read more than a sentence or two."
As a web publisher and as a business person, I can see the arguments both ways. I know some people who won't subscribe to feeds that aren't full site. I know many who don't care.
There's absolutely no one who will only subscribe to to partial feeds, but there are plenty who want to read stories the way they want to. Why should we lose them as customers? As TechDirt implies, they're going to be more passionate about the content than drive-by-surfers.
It's a shame that such an interesting and unique brand like Freakonomics is selling out. But at least they're tackling the issue with their users.
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