Heffernan Laments the Death of the Open Web; the Times Props Up its Paywall

The New York Times' media columnist Virginia takes something of an elegiac tone in her recent piece about "The Death of the Open Web":

"But a kind of virtual redlining is now under way. The Webtropolis is being stratified. Even if, like most people, you still surf the Web on a desktop or laptop, you will have noticed pay walls, invitation-only clubs, subscription programs, privacy settings and other ways of creating tiers of access. All these things make spaces feel “safe” — not only from viruses, instability, unwanted light and sound, unrequested porn, sponsored links and pop-up ads, but also from crude design, wayward and unregistered commenters and the eccentric ­voices and images that make the Web constantly surprising, challenging and enlightening."

Ok, cute. But the paper that you work for is going to charge its readers to read online in about 6 months. I wonder what the dialogue about the open web is like inside the NYT offices.

Heffernan's argument is confused, I think. Perhaps, not as honest as she could have been writing the piece for anyone else. Despite it's flimsy thesis, the essay has this gem of an analogy:

“The App Store must rank among the most carefully policed software platforms in history,” the technology writer Steven Johnson recently noted in The Times. Policed why? To maintain the App Store’s separateness from the open Web, of course, and to drive up the perceived value of the store’s offerings. Perception, after all, is everything: many apps are to the Web as bottled water is to tap — an inventive and proprietary new way of decanting, packaging and pricing something that could once be had free.

Weekend Megamix

The Pelican Project



Chat up lines for Web Designers

1. I wish I had an Eyedropper to capture the color of your eyes.

2. Has anybody ever told you that your teeth have perfect kerning?

6. Would you like to lorem ipsum dolor sit on my lap?

9. First I think I’ll stroke your curve, then I’d like to fill you.

11. You look perfectly put together. Do you display this well in IE?

16. Let’s “Skip Intro” and just go find a hotel room right now.

17. When I serve you breakfast in bed tomorrow, would you like your coffee with cream and sugar, or do you prefer it #000000?

I've been doing this my whole life

The project began as a response to the shifting landscape in publishing, and the realization that more and more of us are writing in public, as bloggers and tweeters, for instance. Similarly, we sought to broadcast words in public, through the simple act of contemplative reading on a noisy street corner, or as performance, with readers directly engaging onlookers.

Just Because

Twitter: Officially over capacity

All I'm getting from Twitter in the past few days is the fail whale. There's been a huge surge of new this week due to the AplusK vs. CNN showdown and new members Oprah and Gayle King.

Here's a rundown of the events at Maria Write Now

And the illustrated version

Waxin' and Milkin'

So long as I have fingers, I will keep scrolling Waxin' & Milkin', a "visual mixtape" (the most ingenious and successful idea I have seen in a while).

*Now with never ending pages! Keep scrolling until infinity!

Chinese Calligraphy, meet the 21st century

Here's a stunning site where you create your own music video for Spanish singer Labuat. It's all in Spanish but you'll understand what to do.

NB: Depending on your connection speed, it might take a while to load

http://soytuaire.labuat.com/

via Fubiz and FWA

Unlocking Newspapers, Pt. II

This trick I discovered for unlocking archived material from the New York Times website also works for the online edition for the Globe and Mail

You're welcome!

NYT Loophole

I've discovered a pretty big flaw in the New York Times website registration system. The Grey Lady's website requires that readers register online and log-in to read any articles older than 1 day. I suppose this is so the webmaster and marketing team can log whatever you're reading and your patterns, and survey you in whatever other ways they can imagine.

Well, I've discovered another way in. Just Google the article name and "nytimes." This works for virtually any article. If something is more than one page, just click the single page option to read the whole thing.

Ok, that's it. Keep under the radar.

I love this idea that a Really Interesting Group put out last year. Should we create the North American version?

More about the project here.