Khoi Vinh recently published an article about paywalls and crediting subscribers (short version: there’s a certain pride in paying for top-shelf journalism, a pride which paper subscribers get to demonstrate when they read in cafés and other public places, but which is denied to digital customers).

Works That Work also has a paywall. Digital and hybrid subscribers can access content and now can also share articles which are otherwise inaccessible to the general public. We’d like to offer a bit of credit to our paying subscribers for sharing the articles with their friends. See for example this article. The link I share is unique and carries a little bit of extra information identifying me as the person who shared it. The shared link bypasses the paywall, opening free access to a wider readership. When the link is shared further, it retains the reference to the subscriber who made it possible for others to read the article. This both acknowledges the importance of our subscribers and spreads the articles they love a to wider audience.

Feel free to share the articles which you enjoy. Others may enjoy them too.