Web-based articles, these days, are increasingly an exercise in pain and frustration. […] This is the tragedy of the commons. It’s your bandwidth, and you’re paying for it, but everybody else is clogging it up with stuff you never asked for or wanted. The result is a hugely degraded user experience – bordering on the completely unusable, in many situations. Is there anybody who can fix this problem? The Guardian
Result? Consumers took matters into their own hands: hence the rise of Ad Blockers. More Adblockers, more individual publishers locking their content (paywalls).
People already hate pop-up ads and pesky paywalls; they won’t want to pull out their credit card each time they want to read an article, either. Rita McGrath, Professor at Columbia Business School.
What about publishing economics? In the past we were used to paying a [modic] sum for physical newspapers. With the advent of the Internet, users didn’t have to pay to access web content. Publisher revenue was advertising based. Somewhere along the line, ad experience went awry and Ad Blocking became the norm. With dwindling revenue, publishers started to experiment with paywalls to fund their premium journalism. Various publishers have seen success with this approach.
So, right now we are in a situation where Ad Blockers start to be the norm and individual publishers retaliate with paywalls.
Different paywalls for every popular website you love does not cut it. Just imagine the final bill to pay for all those website paywalls you visit.
Another possible concern is that paywalls are subscription based. You have to pay a fixed monthly fee for access. What if you don’t visit one site all that often? Most of us prefer pay as you go models. Giving the peace of mind to pay only for what is actually used.
Do you agree this can be better?
We think so.
Rubidyo aims to provide a solution. And build a better web while at it. How?
Remove ads and individual paywalls. No sidebar for the rectangular banners. No pop-ups warning you have X free articles left for this month. Enjoy publishing in it’s true bare content form. Allow publishers to focus on creative ways to deliver content.
An universal ticket/card pass to premium journalism content on all websites you love. Enjoy a better web experience at your pace. Top up and access on the go stories you love.
And the best part of it?
It’s really, really affordable.
Did you know that ad content accounts for up to 79% of your mobile data? So you are already paying without knowing. Put those money to better use and get rid of the ads in the process. You want a final number? Ahm, around 1-2 coffees per month. How does it sound?
Once you experiment with the reading experience rubidyo offers, you won’t like to go back.
Join us now! Be a rubidyon! Change the web.