In my feed-reading this morning, I stopped my blitz on this short blurb in the NYTimes: “A Venerable Magazine Energizes Its Web Site” The nut graph?
Readership will get another boost starting Tuesday, when TheAtlantic.com will abolish the fire wall that has allowed only subscribers to the print magazine to see most of its articles online. It will make its archive accessible, too.
That’s fantastic news. I see Scott Karp shares that view. I also saw that James Fallows (a long-time foundation of The Atlantic) read the same article, though he’s living and writing in China right now. (I’m sure he’s known about it for some time, but was waiting for the public news to break.) Opening up isn’t going to change the game for The Atlantic, but at least they are playing. I don’t think any of their print subscribers will drop the paid subscription in the short-term.
Given this change, I feel the time is right to post this document from August, 1995.
At the time, The Atlantic had been on AOL nearly two years, learning a lot and trying to engage a younger audience. I was a year out of college myself, though I’d been working at The Atlantic for four years. The General Manager, the late Kim Jensen, continued to look to online as a new business opportunity. Below is what I wrote in getting the website project approved. It was an email at first, so apologies for formatting. (Side note: at the time, USNews and World Report and The Atlantic shared an owner, Mort Zuckerman, and Zuckerman also owned a print-related publishing business, AGT, which was morphing into an online shop (painfully).)
The fun/sad part? What hasn’t changed about online media in a dozen years.
Everything but the redacted names below is from August 1995.
The Atlantic Monthly on the World Wide Web
A few framing observations:
The WWW is a remote-control freak’s paradise. The proliferation of “channels’ envisioned for cable TV is already available on the WWW. Of course, quantity is NOT quality–our saving grace! The brand names (ESPN, Time, Microsoft, NBC, etc.) still garner much of the immediate attention. But with so many choices, and the click-and-I’m-gone mentality, the brand name sites only have a slight edge over the smaller sites. A company can appear much bigger or smaller on the WWW than its real-life incarnation. Again, this is a benefit for us; as long as we take advantage of that initial brand-name recognition, we don’t need to tell anyone about “the man behind the curtain”…our content will speak for itself.
First impressions are even harder to overcome on the WWW; since this is our chance to find a new audience, we must entice them in at the top level. The trick to return readership is earning a spot on the user’s Bookmark list (their favorite places, saved for them so they no longer need to remember the URL).
If we can make The Atlantic Monthly attractive to this audience, we will be tapping a very attractive market for advertisers. In addition to the quoted material below about professionals, the biggest online market is students, especially college students.
PERSONAL ANECDOTE: Although I had heard of The Atlantic Monthly before I started working for the magazine, I had never *read* the magazine. Once I began reading TAM, I realized what I had been missing. The WWW is our best option for a relatively cheap introduction to this younger audience.
“Computer-oriented consumers are “techno-savvy” ( O&M Direct 1994 ) with median age 35 and 77% having a college degree. The Hermes survey of Web consumers found that the median income of consumers is $50,000 (Gupta 1995), with an average household income of $67,000 which in part accounts for the premium associated with convenient, reliable information and price- elasticity in commercial transactions in this medium. There is a predominance of professional and computer-related occupations among Web users.” (For more info, see end of document.)
Exceptions to the remote-control mentality exist. Users can–and do–search for specific information quite single-mindedly. However, this information is usually VERY narrow in scope: price for an airline ticket to St. Louis, performance of a new software package, company filings with the SEC, etc. For a general-interest magazine, filling the bill for a Search, as opposed to a Browse, will be a continual challenge.
***Important explanations
REGISTRATION asks or requires the user to provide some demographic information in return for their access to the content offered. Usually, at least four pieces of information are required: name, e-mail address, username for site, and password (selected by user, of course). Additional information can be requested and/or required (postal address, phone #, subscriber to print?, etc.).
However, the longer the registration, the less likely users are to complete the process–click goes the “remote,” and it’s off to a new site. Therefore, the user is often given the choice of not entering the additional information, even though it is requested and desired.
Dave W(redacted) did a lot of looking around at publications on the WWW, checking for registration, subscriptions, and archives. Of the various publications already on the WWW, these required registration of some sort:
Pathfinder (Time, Sports Illustrated, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Southern Living, Sunset, Vibe, Fortune) Lots of content available up front, but varies by publication; more content available with registration.
PC Magazine not mandatory; free gift if completed
WIRED required for much of content, but about to be abandoned
A greater number did not; however, the list above does include many of the bigger names on the WWW.
For the tracking software currently available, registration is a requirement. Without it, we can get total entries to the initial site, but we cannot distinguish between repeat users and new users and we have little (if any) demographic information.
—->As of today, August 14, there is another possible problem. Derek T(redacted) at AGT informs me that none of the tracking software packages currently being evaluated for use by USNews and The Atlantic (and the other future AGT clients) are final products for the Windows NT platform, which AGT chose for the server.
I/Pro, one of the few companies with a commercial tracking product already released, is in beta (final testing) for the Windows NT version; the other companies are not even in beta. (AGT, for reasons yet to be determined, decided not to use Unix, the current WWW king.) Therefore, launching with tracking software in a reliable form MAY not be possible. I know how crucial this information is, and I will be pushing Derek to fill in the blanks here as fast as possible. Although AGT only bought the Netscape Commerce Server as a 60-day demo, I don’t know if they are Unix-savvy enough to switch.
Another promising product for the future, ClickShare–also not yet even in beta–has not been mentioned by Derek. I will forward some information to him tonight.
SUBSCRIPTION is functionally little different than registration, with the important distinction that users must provide more demographic information and their credit card number. The security problem has been solved, as long as users are using the Netscape Navigator browser (the free client software which commands 60-70% of the browser market). We will be designing our pages for this browser–as many others do–and suggesting that users choose to view our site through this browser. (Given our AOL base, though, we will not ignore the features of the AOL browser.) On a subscription page, we would remind users that their information is not secure unless they are using Netscape.
Once the user sends their information to the AGT server, it would be forwarded to us via encrypted e-mail. We would then pass the information along to our credit card authorization company. Alternately, we will try to establish procedure for more immediate authorization. Given that this would require (I think) another software purchase and installation at AGT, I am concerned that this immediate turnaround might not be available to us at launch. (I will be checking on this further, starting tonight.)
The cost of subscription is another dicey issue on the WWW. VERY few publications require–or even offer–subscription for access to their content. Here are the two examples most frequently cited:
NandO.net free for most services, $12 annually for everything else
Mercury Center some services free, $4.95 monthly for rest
Dave W(redacted)’s search through other newspaper and magazine sites did not find a single magazine which had a subscription for the online version.
If we do require a subscription, would we want to bundle it with the print subscription? When we talked about this, there were a lot of questions and no answers. What percentage of our current subscribers will be readers of the online version? (The AOL poll might help here.) If someone is already paying for the print subscription, are we offering enough extra to make an online sub attractive? Eventually, the answer is sure to be yes, but I don’t know about at launch. What about our AOL site? The content there will overlap quite a bit with the WWW, as envisioned right now. If we require a subscription on the WWW, we will have to change our AOL policy (sure to be a difficult move, PR-wise).
One other idea to remember: we can offer rebates on online subscriptions if users:
1) provide a further level of demographic information
2) agree to let us share the information with other companies.
Examples already exist of users being asked to trade their info as a “currency” (NewsShare).
____________________________________________________________________________
With these thoughts in mind, I think we have a fair number of options for The Atlantic Monthly on the World Wide Web (TAM on WWW). Some are more realistic for the future (which means six to nine months) than they are now. Our plans must include milestones for evaluating our current practices in the face of new technologies. With a launch on October 1, 1995, the first evaluation should be completed in early December, in time to make changes for January 1, 1996. Beyond that time, well…let’s get online first.
One decision which affects the choices below: what do we offer as our current issue? Some publications only offer certain stories, others put the current issue online late. Considering the comments we get on AOL, I am against putting any content online any later than necessary. If we must restrict access to the current issue to avoid subscription, then rotation of current articles–or simply selection–is a better option.
With only two years in the archive, I think we would be hard-pressed to sell separate access to the archive. However, that is possible, same as a subscription.
(Kim, I will have to flesh this and some of the ideas below out tomorrow.)
***OPTIONS***
1) Offer entire area for free, without registration
Right now, this is the standard option on the WWW.
With a wide range of information to choose from, users are unwilling to pay for content. As we have seen from the figures bandied about for space on Prodigy’s home page or Hotwired’s home page, advertising dollars are beginning to flow to the WWW. Currently, 1% of advertising budgets are slated for “new media”; however, this 1% is really the only broad-based outside support for WWW pages established by magazines and newspapers. (The main exception would be newspapers which also serve as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in their local region–not an option for TAM.)
2) Offer entire area for free, with optional registration
The registration screen would be suggested at the top level (home page), and also from the other main menus (Current Issue, Features, The Exchange, The Agora … these are the current names).
Registration is viewed as a nuisance, but it is also recognized for what it is: a necessary evil if users are to continue to enjoy “free” sites subsidized by advertisers.
3) Offer entire area for free, with strongly suggested registration
No different than above, except that the registration suggestion would appear almost every time the user clicked to enter a new document/page.
4) Offer entire area for free, but force registration at the top level
Same idea, but you cannot get beyond the home page without registering.
This is the Hotwired model, which is being abandoned by that publication now that they have proved to advertisers that they have a steady audience. (my interpretation of the reasons). Hotwired launched with NO content outside the registration barrier; that switched quickly to offering some content outside the barrier.
***All the choices below have the same options for registration, with the additional level of subscription.
5) Offer entire area for free, but limit current content
6) Offer entire area for free, except for the archive
7) Offer entire area, including full current issue and the archive, for one subscription price
It will be necessary to have both a single-issue subscription and a year subscription available.
8) Offer entire area, with two levels of subscription
First level would enable access to the full current issue. Second level would enable access to the archive. This could be one price, or it could be transactionally priced.
GOOD ONLINE MARKETING/ADVERTISING RESOURCE
http://www2000.ogsm.vanderbilt.edu/
2.4. The World Wide Web: Attractive Demographics
Computer-oriented consumers are “techno-savvy” ( O&M Direct 1994 ) with median age 35 and 77% having a college degree. The Hermes survey of Web consumers found that the median income of consumers is $50,000 (Gupta 1995), with an average household income of $67,000 which in part accounts for the premium associated with convenient, reliable information and price- elasticity in commercial transactions in this medium. There is a predominance of professional and computer-related occupations among Web users.
SRI’s psychographic analysis of the Web population, iVALS (1995) explored the psychology of consumer choices and behavior on the Web. SRI found two Web audiences, the “upstream” stereotypical Web user comprising 10% of the US population and the “downstream” audience comprising a diverse set of groups (90% of the population). The upstream audience comprises 50% of the Web population, with a higher gender imbalance (70% male and 30% female). Members of this group, classified as Actualizers according to SRI, generally receive institutional subsidies for Web usage. These consumers are highly educated and work in academic or technical fields. Since the use of the Web is now diffusing into this group, the future growth of the Web will be determined by the downstream audience.
The downstream or the “Other Half” of the Web audience, will determine the characteristics of the Web as a mainstream medium. This group, 64% male and 36% female, is younger than the upstream half and comprised of students or recent college graduates. This group has two over-represented groups: Strivers and Experiencers. The Strivers are characterized by higher technical sophistication and a high degree of engagement with the Web. They generally receive Internet-access subsidy. The Experiencers are less enamored with the Web and hence less intense users, possibly because the Web’s form and content does not meet their expectations. The Fulfilleds, the most information-intensive of the VALS 2 segments and Achievers, predominantly female, are underrepresented in the Web population. Thus, SRI concludes that the division between Web users and non-users is primarily based on educationally acquired abilities.
PC penetration is significant (Ziegler 1995). The PC market is “young”, since 58% of PC owners have had their PCs for less than two years. One-third of US households have been reported to have a PC (up 27% from July 1994) with about one-third to one-half equipped with modems. However online service penetration remains low.
Non-representative surveys of Web usage ( Graphic, Visualization, & Usability Center 1995 ; Gupta 1995 ; Rissa & Co Oy 1995 ) suggest that users are young, upscale, educated, predominately male, and heavy computer users (more than 50 hr./wk). Note however that the results are not population projectable and the methodologies are open to criticism. These demographics suggest that Web consumers are leading-edge early adopters (Freeman 1995). CommerceNet is funding the first-ever population projectable, representative survey of who uses the Internet and why. Nielsen Media Research has been selected to administer the survey; results are expected to be available in the fall of 1995.
I wonder what else sits on this hard drive? 😉