Even without the benefit of the very newest technology, I’m thinking of cutting out my paper subscription to the Washington Post–at least if Carly can live without the Safeway grocery coupons. Not sure of that. But I can dream.
Why? Too much to read on the Net, too much paper trash to carry out. Hey, we’re at the other end of the hall from Room T.
An old story worth revisiting
I know. This is an old story–paper vs. electrons. Still, thanks to all the RSS feeds and other online goodies I’m reading instead of paper publications, it urgently deserves to be revisited. Pardon me, Posties. You’re probably way ahead of most in the news biz. But by modern e-commerce standards, you’re still in a cave.
Mind you, there is a way for the Post to keep every cent of my subscription money. It could enter the 21st century and give me unlimited access to its archives for the cost of a paper subscription. The same service would allow me to get e-mail alerts by keyword, with sophisticated options available. Perhaps I’m missing something, but apparently one can only subscribe to email newsletters by topic or subtopic. Can’t the Post keep up with the New York Times and do the keyword routine?
Don’t take away the free daily online edition, which, after all, costs much less to distribute than the p one. But do think about the right set of online perks for paying subscribers, one of whom I’ve been for decades.
Wanted: A slick HTML summary–just like the New York Times
What’s more, each morning via e-mail, I’d love to get some slick HTML with a comprehensive summary of the entire paper, the same service the New York Times offers for free. Too, if I wanted, I could click on a collection of HTML files to be able to read the Post offline.
Also I’d like, via email, a generous helping of Alexandria, VA, news. More clueful than the Posties about localized email, the city lets residents sign up for emailed press releases with goverment news and even crime reports. Why isn’t the Post offering this service with more of a journalistic twist?
Of course, if I can get the news via RSS, too, not just e-mail, that would be still better.
And most important…
In fairness to the Post, it has one of the best sites on the Net with a treasure trove of content, but, alas, when it comes to basics like ones above, the people on L Street still are living in the ’90s–just like the majority of newspapers on the Net. Oh–and one more piece of free advice for L Street: Don’t forget to post on the Web every bleepin’ Safeway coupon!
