E-Media Tidbits

Time Inc. Anyone want this?

The "free" offer I just received from Time magazine prompts my question. For free -- well, plus $2.15 for shipping and handling -- Time will send me the Time Almanac 2008, "Powered by Encyclopedia Britannica."

But wait -- hasn't anyone at Time heard of Wikipedia? Or even Britannica.com? Or the hundreds of other online encyclopedias and almanacs that are probably faster, easier and cheaper than Time Almanac 2008, which includes "Over a million facts! Over 900 pages! 14-page, full-color Year in Pictures insert! Insightful features from Time magazine!"

If I were trying to sell print almanacs, I probably wouldn't use my e-mail list (i.e., wired customers) as my first choice for promotion. I'd use direct mail, and try to specifically target people who don't use e-mail and don't have ubiquitous online access. They're likely to be my best customers.

But then:

• E-mail is cheap.
• Some people with e-mail may still be on dial-up, or may not know about Wikipedia et al, or may still prefer the feel of paper.

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...After all, the reason I got this e-mail was because, despite my extensive online use, I still get Time magazine. Yes, the print edition. (They offered it to me for $10 a year, including a subscription to Money magazine -- again, print -- as well. For that much, I couldn't pass it up.)

Is there a catch to Time's almanac offer? Why, yes. Of course. It's only "when you join the Time Book Series," which means they'll mail me new books every now and again (up to six per year) just like a book club. The old "negative option" ploy. Now I remember why I hated book clubs. And they don't even do the negative option online (or so it appears from their offer); you have to mail back a postcard.

Hmmm. I just hit the recycling bin with a (hard-copy) 1994 Information Please Almanac, which had been sitting on my bookshelf untouched since, oh, probably 1999 or 2000. If it weren't for the Time Book Series offer, Time might have even snagged $2.15 from me for the Time Almanac 2008. Even though I know about Wikipedia and Britannica.com and their cousins. There's still something about print.