Official announcements and happiness!
How to make Imzy a success
I came across a few interesting articles posted to imzy this morning and it got me thinking. I would recommend reading them and contributing to the conversations.
If Not Comments. The post talks about NPR shutting down its comments, and asks what the trend means for online news discussion.
This is what's missing from journalism right now. This article talks about the sad state of journalism. The ad-supported model is no longer sustainable and organizations do not have the money to fund big investigative pieces. These investigations provide a vital service to the public but it is difficult to justify the cost. The solution is clearly subscription content.
How to Run for Office in One Simple Step. This is an intiative that provides users with all the tools they need to run for office in one place (though it's more or less promoting NationBuilder). This quote particularly sticks out: “The internet creates unprecedented opportunity to [make a difference],” he said, “but you’ve got to be able to organize to make that happen.”
I think we all want to make this difference here on imzy. Elevate discussion. Cultivate a culture that supports subscription content. Having the tools that enable communities to organize.
imzy can setup success by providing tools, but the rest is really up to the users. How do they break this new ground?




I saw that article a couple days ago on NPR, and wasn't surprised. For a news site, for a thoughtful place, NPR had some pretty crude commenters.
Because they're a target. They speak the truth and the right wing doesn't like the truth.
The truth has a liberal bias.
I don't agree on subscription content being the solution.
Paywalls for news/content are the dying gasps of old media, and have pushed much of their readership away.
I'm not sure what the solution is from a profit-making perspective but i'm fairly certain that subscription services are not it as the money made will be offset by those who cannot/don't want to pay for something they can -and already do- get for free.
Kaela has some interesting thoughts in the original thread.
Personally, I'd like us to get away from the idea that news organizations should be making profit. They're supposed to be performing a public service, but they're all busy pandering to the lowest common denominator to get the highest ratings and generate the most ad revenue. Public discourse suffers greatly in this pursuit because the press is creating entertainment and not doing their job. There is little value there worth paying hard-earned money to consume.
I already pay small subscription fees for ad-free services I value. Pandora. Adobe. (It won't be long until paid software is all subscription-based.) Yousician. Netflix. Hulu. I was paying for Flickr too. I don't know why news should be any different.