Adam Engst and Glenn Fleishman reveal the reasons and thinking behind the new TidBITS Membership Program. As part of the ongoing process of trying to deliver quality content that readers expect while generating sufficient revenue, TidBITS is now offering a membership option to let loyal readers have something special. Adam and Glenn talk about the “uncomfortable middle,” the inevitable debate about memberships, subscriber-only content, value-adds, give-aways, and how they are trying to strike the balance with an “Apple Scale” based on your contributions. The discussion is lengthy and provides a peak behind the curtains at the debates over these issues, what makes their publication unique, and more, as TidBITS moves into the future.
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Chuck Joiner is the producer and host of MacVoices, MacVoicesTV, MacNotables and The MacJury, a group of shows and web sites that make up The MacVoices Group, and is part of MacLevelTen . You can catch up with what he’s doing by following him on Twitter, friending him on Facebook, or circling him on Google+.
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Adam C. Engst is the publisher of TidBITS and Take Control Books. He has written numerous books, including the best-selling Internet Starter Kit series, and many magazine articles – thanks to Contributing Editor positions at MacUser, MacWEEK, and now Macworld. His innovations include the creation of the first advertising program to support an Internet publication in 1992, the first flat-rate accounts for graphical Internet access in 1993, and the Take Control electronic book series. His awards include the MDJ Power 25 ranking as the most influential person in the Macintosh industry outside of Apple every year since 2000, inclusion on the MacTech 25 list of influential people in the Macintosh technical community, and being named one of MacDirectory’s top ten visionaries. And yes, he has been turned into an action figure. Want more? Follow Adam on Twitter for 140-character musings on a variety of topics.
Glenn Fleishman is a TidBITS contributing editor and a Seattle journalist who covers technology for publications like The Economist, The Seattle Times, and Ars Technica. Glenn is a senior contributor at Macworld, and writes regularly for BoingBoing. For TidBITS, Glenn builds and runs much of the technology infrastructure. Glenn lives in Seattle with his wife, Lynn, sons Ben and Rex, two iPhones, an iPad, and a dozen Macs of various vintages. You can find out what’s on his mind by following him on Twitter.
Support TidBITS by Becoming a TidBITS Member by Adam C. Engst on TidBITS
MacVoices #11103: Joseph Ansanelli of ZangZing Profiles Their Elegant Photo Sharing Service
zangzing interview