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Ok this has finally happened. https://twitter.com/simonjoslin/status/1295598162900443136
I meant to write this up ages ago. I’m probably wrong on heaps of it. I’m not in media, not a journo. Just my opinions that no one asked for.
A thread about this nonsense piece of legislation - IMO.
I meant to write this up ages ago. I’m probably wrong on heaps of it. I’m not in media, not a journo. Just my opinions that no one asked for.
A thread about this nonsense piece of legislation - IMO.
It’s backwards that a Facebook user shares (aka distributes) a news article, and Facebook has to pay. It wasn’t FB’s fault the user wants to share it. And in fact the news org benefits.
G/FB provide traffic. If orgs wither now they’re cut off it shows who was benefitting most.
G/FB provide traffic. If orgs wither now they’re cut off it shows who was benefitting most.
It’s unfeasible technologically that FB/Google explains their algorithms. Think thru how they’d explain this to non-techies? And with 28 days notice each time is offensive.
Unfeasible because complex algorithms like Google search are black boxes - how do you explain something that is barely understandable. They’re so complex you'd need to go into extreme detail, which means revealing their secrets.
As a consequence you’d be enabling the SEO economy which exists solely to exploit the algorithms. That’s AGAINST consumer interest. Don’t enable them. We want real results - not paid results.
Why I'm suss: the bill is co-designed by Murdoch. Who benefits the most? Murdoch.
Evil geniuses they are, Murdoch even convinced the gov to give most of it to
... Murdoch (they're libs, it was easy).
AND it blocks upstarts under $150k rev. It entrenches his monopoly!
Evil geniuses they are, Murdoch even convinced the gov to give most of it to
... Murdoch (they're libs, it was easy).AND it blocks upstarts under $150k rev. It entrenches his monopoly!
Don't get me wrong. News is important: reporting what's going on, keeping people in the loop, saving lives during a crisis... https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jun/02/australians-say-abc-saved-lives-during-summer-bushfires-royal-commission-told
Possibly more important than reporting is the power of the fourth estate to keep our government in check. Investigative journalism is critical to a functioning democracy.
The Liberals haven't seemed to care about that lately tho... https://www.smh.com.au/national/laws-restricting-investigative-journalism-are-worse-than-ever-before-20191113-p53a48.html So it's suspicious to me that they care now that Murdoch is the beneficiary. Coincidence?
Oh and let's not forget the gov have been defunding our national bi-partisan news organisation, the ABC, for years! https://theconversation.com/latest-84-million-cuts-rip-the-heart-out-of-the-abc-and-our-democracy-141355
So, let's say we all agree that reporting and investigative journalism are important. Then why aren't we INCREASING funding to the ABC? They're our national news organisation with no commercial influence.
Realistically this bill is just a tax in different clothing. Instead let's be direct. Tax the internet giants.
@TurnbullMalcolm agrees https://twitter.com/annajhenderson/status/1362321872805720067?s=21
Other countries could retaliate & tax our exports. At least it’s honest. And who says they won't retaliate anyway?
@TurnbullMalcolm agrees https://twitter.com/annajhenderson/status/1362321872805720067?s=21
Other countries could retaliate & tax our exports. At least it’s honest. And who says they won't retaliate anyway?
This bill props up old business models tho - those no longer relevant in the internet age. The old print model (+digital) is archaic, slow and sorely lacking. Newspaper organisations that don't adapt are dead on the internet.
I pay for a subscription to @SatPaper. Look it's nice to receive a physical newspaper. I do it so the kids see me reading print. But the content is sometimes out of date. By Saturday, I know some of it already thanks to twitter.
News orgs around the world are adapting: The Guardian went freemium with an optional subscription upgrade. NY Times is an outlier sure, but they've proven that the "best reporting" can survive on subs alone. Washington Post is interesting too.
Also see Buzzfeed, Vox, Mashable...
Also see Buzzfeed, Vox, Mashable...
But what's most disappointing to me is this bill would let our Oz news orgs limp on while the rest of the world innovates. Limping on discourages trying new business models that are suited to the internet by default. One new model is particularly interesting:
The paid newsletter. You pay directly to the author/journalist/reporter. They receive 90% (or more). They write daily/weekly/monthly. It arrives in your email inbox. You read it.
It's efficient and simple. No advertising necessary. No middle-men. Minuscule env impact
It's efficient and simple. No advertising necessary. No middle-men. Minuscule env impact
I subscribe to @stratechery. It's super niche. I have a fascination for tech, business and the future. I love his prescient takes on where things are headed and I am willing to pay for it.
Note: All my best "ideas" here are bad regurgitations of his.
Note: All my best "ideas" here are bad regurgitations of his.
He covers news, sure, but ultimately he's evolving his thereoms about how the internet is transforming our world. Constantly evolving. A book wouldn't suffice. The newsletter is the perfect model, which is only possible on the net.
PS: He covered this https://stratechery.com/2021/publishing-is-back-to-the-future/
PS: He covered this https://stratechery.com/2021/publishing-is-back-to-the-future/
So I get super niche news reporting that I absolutely love in my inbox everyday. Accessing, monetising, specialising in niches is uniquely possible on the internet see https://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Future-Business-Selling/dp/1401309666
And the great thing about niches is that there's almost unlimited niches. We're just seeing the start of this. Heard of Substack - now there's a start-up to make this easy for writers. And Twitter finally did something innovative and is getting into the space.
I know little about media & journalism, so here’s my opinion 
There’s tonnes of talented Oz journos. It’s like the games industry in the late 00s. The old way was holding us back. When our old orgs died, new seedlings grew more splendid than before. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-11-17-the-rebirth-of-the-australian-games-market
There’s tonnes of talented Oz journos. It’s like the games industry in the late 00s. The old way was holding us back. When our old orgs died, new seedlings grew more splendid than before. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-11-17-the-rebirth-of-the-australian-games-market
Finally one half-baked thought; if Google has to pay news organisations when users click on news headlines - won’t it encourage clickbaity headlines? THEY GET PAID LITERALLY FOR EVERY CLICK. That sounds awful to me? How is that a better world?
