Kindle Blog Subscriptions

Posted by Lizz Shepherd Jul 25, 2008

Earlier this week I was writing an article about the Amazon Kindle with a much different focus than the article that actually emerged. I was interested in learning about how the Kindle is really doing as far as sales and user retention. I wanted to see whether the massive hype when the Kindle was launched would continue into the revolutionized publishing world that Amazon promised.

What I actually found to be more interesting was that people are paying for blog subscriptions they get through the Kindle. These are not blogs that are available only through the device- they are blogs that you can read free on the Internet. So why pay for the subscription?

The Internet, and online publishing in particular, is all about convenience. You can charge more for an ebook than for a print book because it's much more convenient. You can get people to sign up for an online newsletter who would not consider getting one through snail mail. And now blog subscriptions are being made still more convenient. The Kindle goes anywhere and the updates are done wirelessly. You don't even have to turn on your computer to get the latest post from your favorite blogs.

What I also found intriguing of course was that the bloggers are getting a healthy cut of the subscription fees. The article contains the link to apply to have a blog accepted onto the Kindle. But, I'm thinking that it's probably just a matter of time before every blog out there is accessible through the device.