CompuServe Messages

<<Well, those *are* good reasons… Though I have one good reason at this point in time NOT to–no time.>> Ah, the vast chasm between can't and won't. If something's impossible, then all the good reasons in the world don't really matter <g>. <<I'm also a little concerned about how we'd get paid for it…How do other magazines/papers work it?>> This area is so very new. The rules are still in the formative stages. I have seen some excellent examples and, like you, am very interested in the mechanics of this distribution. I think there is big money here. Whenever you have information that only a select audience wants and can't get; you have an opportunity for point-to-point distribution. (Back to 'broadcasting is dead'). You can get away with things in this environment that you can't in 'casting'. WIRED mag has an interesting presence on the World Wide Web. They have bred magazine ads, tv commercials, and hyperlinks and have come up with the concept of 'sponsors'. Each has a presence someplace in the Web pages and like other media, the sponsor furnishes everything except the picticon. But there's a kicker. The viewer is told up front that sponsors=content, and content=viewers, and viewers=more sponsors. You're encouraged to visit sponsors by your own free will. Click on 'Zima' picticon, for example, and you could whoosh to Zima's pages. From there you could go to other places that interest Zima drinkers. Unusual way to channel surf. The multi-tiered sponsorship concept is unprecedented. Only point-to-point communications can bring this to you. I think the travel industry is a cash cow for this where the consumer downloads 'programs' on destinations. Then can explore tours of those destinations (first tier of sponsors), and similar tours — perhaps not to this destination (related products), and perhaps download 'programs' on those destinations. Then can explore agencies that sell these tours (second tier of sponsors). Threading sponsorship like this makes it easy to give sponsors conrete exposure numbers and greater immediacy of purchase. The advantage for the viewer is comparison shopping — something 'broacast' home shopping simply can't do.