Thanks for your fantastic content as always. Could you define for the uninitiated what is a “walled garden” and what is “open web”? Does the first mean “website content behind a paywall” and the second mean “website content anyone can read” or maybe it is something else? Am asking because the arguments here feel counter to other arguments you have made about the rise of subscription content so maybe I just misunderstood what open web / walled garden means.
These terms somewhat exist on a spectrum, but I would argue that a "walled garden" is any platform that forced you to be logged on in both the website and app in order to access its content. I would say that Facebook and Instagram are largely walled gardens. I would define the "open web" as any website that you can easily visit and consume using a standard web browser. I would consider most publishers that publish articles to their website to be part of the open web.
Again, these exist on a spectrum. Most TikTok videos can be consumed in a web browser, but you get the best experience with them within the mobile app while logged in. I would consider the NYT to be part of the open web because it has article pages you can visit directly, but obviously its paywall makes it somewhat of a walled garden.
Thanks for your fantastic content as always. Could you define for the uninitiated what is a “walled garden” and what is “open web”? Does the first mean “website content behind a paywall” and the second mean “website content anyone can read” or maybe it is something else? Am asking because the arguments here feel counter to other arguments you have made about the rise of subscription content so maybe I just misunderstood what open web / walled garden means.
These terms somewhat exist on a spectrum, but I would argue that a "walled garden" is any platform that forced you to be logged on in both the website and app in order to access its content. I would say that Facebook and Instagram are largely walled gardens. I would define the "open web" as any website that you can easily visit and consume using a standard web browser. I would consider most publishers that publish articles to their website to be part of the open web.
Again, these exist on a spectrum. Most TikTok videos can be consumed in a web browser, but you get the best experience with them within the mobile app while logged in. I would consider the NYT to be part of the open web because it has article pages you can visit directly, but obviously its paywall makes it somewhat of a walled garden.
Useful thanks