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ANNOUNCING ...
Atimes.net: A new star in cyberspace
By Allen Quicke
Becoming a member of atimes.net does
not mean you are paying to read Asia Times Online's news content. The same news
remains available for free on atimes.com. What you are paying for is the added
value detailed below.
1. There are no advertisements on atimes.net. No pink, palpitating, lonely
hearts to invade your personal reading space and no dreaded pop-up ads. [1]
2. Atimes.net is custom-built using state-of-the-art technology, allowing us to
introduce a host of new interactive features, as well as some basics that are
not presently available on atimes.com - for example, a proper "Print this page"
facility. It's true that atimes.com will move onto this same technology in due
course, but many of the new interactive features and privileges will remain
exclusive to atimes.net members (subscribers).
3. As a member, you will have the opportunity to contribute material and
influence atimes.net content. We place a lot of trust in our members, which
lets us keep evaluation, moderation and editing of your contributions to a
minimum. With some features, your contribution will appear live on atimes.net
the moment you click a "Submit" button. While our basic news content is common
to both atimes.com and atimes.net, membership of atimes.net allows you to
actively participate in the website and what appears on it.
These, below, are some of the new features that allow you to contribute directly
to our content, comment on it, and engage with ATol writers, editors and fellow
members. [2] You can see some of these features on atimes.net's
home page, and we invite you to pay a visit. Links to other features
are provided below.
4. We Hear You: If you have something pithy to say about our website
or the world in general, you can say it directly and instantly on our Front
Page.
5. Comment on this Article: Every article has this facility alongside
it. Without having to go elsewhere (eg, The Edge, our readers’ forum), you can
see what members and non-members are saying about an article, both on The Edge
and on atimes.net. You can add your own comment instantly. It will appear both
in the “Comments” window alongside the article, and on The Edge, where
non-members can read it and respond. You can see this in action
here: go ahead, post a comment if you like.
6. What They're Saying: This feature on our columnists' and subindex
pages allows you to communicate directly with our columnists and other writers,
as well as see what other readers are saying to or about them, both on The Edge
and on atimes.net. See it in action
here.
7. You Report ... : This Front Page feature enables you to draw
fellow-members' attention to articles you have seen elsewhere on the web, as
well as showcase your journalistic talents (and sense of humor, if you wish).
Write your own headline, add a comment, provide a link to the article at its
source, and enjoy the debate as it unfolds.
8. Speaking Freely: You and fellow members have access to all "Speaking
Freely" submissions from readers and guest writers, and you can help the
editors decide which to promote to our general news sections (thereby making it
available on the Front Page of both atimes.net and atimes.com, where it will
receive wide readership) by voting for submissions you think are worthy. At the
same time, your vote will provide the writers with valuable feedback. Visit the
Speaking Freely page.
9. REaderVIEWS: Members are invited to contribute their own reviews of
just about anything that is reviewable - books, movies, restaurants, gizmos,
wine, etc ... and give it a rating. Your submission can be as long or as short
as you wish. It will be posted on the Front Page, and selected reviews will
also be published in atimes.com, where they will receive wider readership.
In addition:
10. You can custom build new atimes.net pages to receive precisely the
coverage you want, by specifying parameters such as writer, country, industry
and time span. These pages will be available to you via the menu, for easy
access, and they'll stay there until you delete them.
11. Registering for atimes.net membership automatically registers you for The
Edge and the Inner Workings blog, enabling you to participate without having to
log in yet again and remember yet another password. If you already have forum
or blog registration, you can use the same username and password for
atimes.net.
12. Most websites that require readers to register sell the personal information
they gather to advertisers, resulting in readers being targeted by e-mail and
direct advertising campaigns. ATol guarantees that no personal information will
be passed on to advertisers.
13. Atimes.net is optimized for access by mobile devices, including iPhone,
Blackberry and Internet-enabled phones.
14. Last but by no means least, Asia Times Online needs your money. Your
subscription will contribute to ATol's ability to continue offering and
improving its content and services. The advertisements on the free site do not
generate nearly enough revenue to pay our way. Please bear in mind that the
price of a one-year membership of atimes.net is less than half the cost to ATol
of one exclusive article, while annual ad revenue generated by one reader of
the free site who visits every day of the year amounts to less than one tenth
of the cost of one article.
Notes
1. Features that are not part of atimes.net itself may have advertisements, eg,
forums, blogs and video clips. Some links on atimes.net, notably those within
older articles, go to atimes.com pages which have ads. Likewise, older "ATol
Specials" are on atimes.com pages that include ads.
2. Some of these features may be incorporated into the free site, atimes.com,
when it is moved onto the new technology, but without the same level of access
and privileges granted to members.
Allen Quicke is Editor-in-Chief of atimes.net. He welcomes your feedback.
If you have a comment or suggestion regarding the site, please go to
The Edge, our readers' forum, sign up if you aren't a member - it's
free and instantaneous - and post your comment in the To the Editor category.
(Copyright 2009 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us about
sales, syndication and
republishing.)
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All material on this
website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written
permission.
© Copyright 1999 - 2009 Asia Times
Online (Holdings), Ltd.
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Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong
Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
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