Drew Burden

Photo by Jenny Sevcik, Messenger-Inquirer

If you happen to pick up a copy of today’s Messenger-Inquirer, on the front page of the Venue section you will find a story about Twitter, complete with my ugly mug which also accompanies this blog post. I met on Tuesday with Beth Wilberding and Jenny Sevcik and spoke to them about Twitter, what it can be used for, why I use it, and speculated on why its use is so light in the area. I had a great time speaking with Beth and Jenny and I must say they’re both a joy to work with. With compliments given where they are due, I have a bone to pick with the paper.

You see, I have not provided a link to the story about Twitter for one main reason. I doubt you want to pay a while dollar to read it online — more than the 75 cents it costs to buy a normal paper. The internet effectively has an overhead cost of zero, so why do we have to pay more to read it online than to get a physical paper?

It’s no secret that the Internet is slowly eating away at print media. So what if people don’t want to go pick up a paper? Why can’t the M-I accept this inevitability and embrace the internet? If anything, they’re leaving themselves open to some heavy competition, especially if anyone local starts a news organization that’s strictly online. I know people at the M-I have read my blog before, and I urge everyone there to make some noise about it.

Update: The Twitter article has been syndicated in BusinessWeek, which is FREE to read online. Check it out.