Why does Patrick Kenealy not get the web?

July 14, 2003

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Sometimes I like to read Jon Udell's weblog. He's a smart guy with good ideas, and comes up with eloquent ways of expressing them. When I find things that I like, especially on weblogs, I like to link to them. But, oddly, Patrick Kenealy, the CEO of IDG, which publishes InfoWorld, is trying to ban links to their articles.

Now I don't know Patrick, but I do know that they're paying lots of people to update weblogs, check facts, edit stories, and publish articles on IDG sites. And I know that I usually find those articles and read their associated ads through links from other sites.

Patrick, it's well within your rights to ask people not to link to your stuff, or to do so conditionally. But it reflects a grave misunderstanding of the market you're in. Learn from iTunes, not from the RIAA. Ask your writers and your advertisers what they'd prefer. I bet they're not looking to be walled off from the web.

1:32 PM

2 TrackBacks

Dummy and dummier from frizzyLogic on July 14, 2003 4:17 PM

So, quite apart from harassing individuals it appears the dummies over at IDG - the publishers of "for dummies" along with lots of other tech stuff - have got up a whole collection of noses just recently. Apparently they're attempting... Read More

why did you stop by? I always forget. from at meltoni.com on July 15, 2003 11:11 PM

infelizmente minha insatisfa��o jornal�stica na web continua, e pior, nem sequer � infelicidade sob o ponto de vista de 'conte�do'. estava lendo anil ontem e continuo pensando sobre quais motivos (hip�critas) levaram a infoworld a banir links para seus... Read More

8 Comments

"Patrick Kenealy, the CEO of IDG, which publishes InfoWorld, is trying to ban links to their articles."

Hi Anil, are you sure about that conclusion? The ContentBiz article you cited merely states that they're redirecting visitors from TechTarget with a special message, in response to perceived abusive linking. This seems quite different from "banning [all]linking"... in previous deep-linking debates the tactic of checking the referring link has seemed to be the universally favored one. Do you see another article somewhere which actually states that IDG is attempting to ban incoming links in general...?

tx,
jd

John Dowdell | July 14, 2003 2:34 PM | Reply

Does seem like JD has the truth of it -- this was an IDG reaction to a competitor bypassing IDGs own login screens and profiting from IDG's material. Seems as if IDG is being particularly careful with whom they're blocking.

Doesn't strike me that it impacts on just plains folks like us.

Burningbird | July 14, 2003 4:37 PM | Reply

I dunno, JD, I read this:

Not sharing registration data. Many Web sites, TechTarget among them, require users to register before being able to read content. If a Web site that requires registration wishes to link to IDG content, that site must be willing to share its registration data with IDG. This is especially important to Kenealy if the Web site linking to IDG content allows Web visitors to bypass the IDG site's own registration page. "It's basic fairness," he said."

And it looks to me like he wants Shelley's email address if I link to him. Am I misreading somnething?

Anil | July 14, 2003 5:04 PM | Reply

Was it your intention to exclude the actual HREFs from those links to illustrate your point? At first I thought it was just a coding error but now I realize I might just be a bit slow on the uptake.

Simon Jessey | July 14, 2003 5:21 PM | Reply

Shh, Simon, you'll let everyone in on my cleverness!

Anil | July 14, 2003 6:20 PM | Reply

I know how to get to the bottom of this... I'm gonna link to one of their articles right now, and if I disappear in a burst of flame and you never hear from me again then you'll know *exactly* what happened to me.... ;-)

John Dowdell | July 14, 2003 9:57 PM | Reply

I dunno, Anil. Are you charging for me?

Burningbird | July 14, 2003 11:44 PM | Reply

So, basically, IDG realized that linking to their articles allowed readers to bypass registration, and they're blaming TechTarget for their own lousy web design.
Everything will just sort itself out once they figure how the NYTimes transforms deep linking into self promotion, right?

garoo | July 15, 2003 9:29 PM | Reply

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