Over the last week or so, there’s been a change in the way my reader looks – all Gawker Media sites changed their full-text feeds to partial-text, AKA click-to-our-site-so-we-can-make-money-off-you feeds.
Not likely.
There are other options out there, and/or the info I get from them isn’t that important. I can drop Giz and only read Engadget. I barely skim Jalopnik anyway, and the porn blog? Pure tourism – no loss to lose it, really. Fewer tits in my day probably means more productivity. Besides, there’s always Tumblr. So I’m on the hunt for new places to read on a regular basis if you’re in the mood to recommend.
Ironically, at the same time (conspiracy?!), Slashdot just expanded their feed offering to show me selected comments – amazing. I’m not sure I even need all that information (and they provided a link to change the feed back that I haven’t explored yet), but it’s nice that they offer it.
Now, I’m not a particularly “valuable” reader from a demographics standpoint. I’m over 30, basically ad-blind to the ads that I don’t automatically block and I rarely comment. So they don’t care about losing me. But if they feel that way about everyone who’s just like me (and anecdotal evidence suggests that we are legion), Gawker Media is losing a big chunk of their readership. Ah well.
Thanks to Mike Masnick at Techdirt for the article that pointed this out and prompted me to act.
edit: I *am* sad about losing Lifehacker, but a stand’s a stand, and i’m sure I can find other places to read.
