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The Washington Post Is Using Reader Data to Set Subscription Prices

28 pointsby kklisurayesterday at 8:18 PM9 commentsview on HN

Comments

redgridtacticalyesterday at 10:05 PM

This is just dynamic pricing with extra steps. Airlines have done this for decades but at least they're transparent about it. The difference here is that readers don't know the person next to them is paying a different price for the same article. Once you start using behavioral data to set prices, the incentive flips from "make content worth paying for" to "figure out who's desperate enough to pay more." Not a great look for a newspaper that positions itself as a public service.

1123581321yesterday at 10:13 PM

Do these models try to factor the target’s knowledge of what things cost, or maybe even their knowledge of dynamic pricing or discounting practices? That seems like it would not necessarily inversely correlate with wealth.

To use an extreme example, you’d have wanted your model to have offered Warren Buffet the base price, or even a deal.

rimbo789yesterday at 10:10 PM

Well this should be banned. Or at least watpo should be required to be transparent about this whenever you subscribe

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like_any_otheryesterday at 10:25 PM

> “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.”

How's that "I have nothing to hide" working out?

bethekidyouwantyesterday at 9:49 PM

Light on details. Could be as simple as user who reads a couple articles a month gets a lower rate than someone who reads daily.

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monkaijuyesterday at 11:14 PM

Correlates with WaPos massive decline in quality, just another rag