UberSmith is the first independent news publisher to publish on the Wall Street Journal’s newly launched, decentralised publishing platform, a global network of correspondents who are free to publish content without a subscription fee. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Not only are readers able to consume content directly, but a global network of correspondents has opened up new opportunities for the media industry, which can’t afford to be reliant on subscription fees.
Global network of correspondents
The Paccar Ubersmith Wall Street Journal was a collaboration between Paccar Ubersmith and the Wall Street Journal Media Group. It is an innovative platform which uses a decentralized network of journalists to produce quality content in a variety of languages. In addition to providing readers with unbiased news and information, this one of a kind media company has also demonstrated how to best distribute said content. With the advent of blockchain technology, this model of media distribution is set to take the industry by storm.
Although Paccar Ubersmith’s flagship publication is not yet available on mobile devices, you can catch up on the latest headlines on the WSJ Media Group website. Additionally, the newsroom will soon be rolling out an innovative paywall free version for those who prefer to read the WSJ print edition on paper. Despite the high cost of this particular subscription, it is the ideal way to stay current with the latest developments in finance, technology and entertainment.
Decentralised network
Decentralized networks are on the rise, and are bringing with them a slew of new apps to boot. And, judging by the amount of money flowing around the crypto ecosystem, it’s a safe bet that they’ll be on the verge of some sort of regulatory snout in the near future.
A new wave of startups are focusing on building a new crop of decentralized apps. But, how do they get there? The answer is regulation. For instance, there’s a Senate Infrastructure Bill in the works, and it’s a good bet that crypto brokers will be included.
One of the first movers in the space is the Ronin Network. This allows users to trade their digital assets across different blockchains. Similarly, the Uniswap platform allows users to tap into liquidity pools. In a nutshell, it’s a peer-to-peer trading platform that replaces the electronic order books of old with automated market making algorithms.
Paywall-free publication
The Wall Street Journal has been testing various ways of allowing non-subscribers to sample stories. They’ve also been refining their subscription prediction model. This way, the Journal can show different levels of access to the site based on a visitor’s propensity to subscribe.
According to Karl Wells, general manager of the Journal memberships team, this new approach will help the Journal better manage two revenue lines. One is subscriptions and the other is advertising.
WSJ is using a combination of AI and non-subscriber data to create a predictive model for its subscriptions. This gives the Journal the ability to show different levels of access to the site – whether it’s free, full-access, or subscription only.
As well as being able to read stories for free, non-subscribers can be given guest passes – a one-time pass to read the Journal’s content. These passes require users to provide their email address.
WSJ is one of the first major news organizations to adopt this approach. Several large publishers, including BusinessLive, the New York Times, and Netwerk24, have also supported the practice.
