It is impossible to doubt the influence of newspapers over the centuries. It has been our go-to source of information since the Renaissance Europe (there is a slightly global disagreement on how old the art of printed paper really is, but I choose to go with this era), where handwritten newsletters were passed on between merchants, covering stories of ongoing wars and economic conditions. It is remarkably amazing how handwritten newsletters have transformed into the form of media we see today, sometimes called “the 4th power of society” and somewhat a “watchdog” of our world.
Up until about 20-something years ago, newspapers carried tremendously large revenues. Obviously, this was a result of people having no other choice than to pay for it in order to procure information about the world around them. Also, since the space is finite on physical paper, the ad space is also a lot more expensive. However, when the internet blew up, and our glorious humanity realised that it was not just a fad, things came to be a lot more complicated for newspapers. In order to clench on to the market, they soon had to go online, which suddenly gave the reader an alternative choice to either pay for the physical paper, or to go online and read for free.
Although, in the early 2000’s, the majority of people still bought the physical papers. Internet and technology were still new and no one over the age of 37 really understood the concept. However, younger generations started to care more and more for the new technology. And as the younger generations grew older, and technological evolution progressed in an amazing pace internet-based sources are now our go-to wellsprings of information.
How has this affected today’s newspapers?
Well, one can without doubt say that physical newspapers still carry some value, but, fewer and fewer people are willing to go buy themselves a newspaper when they can just use their mobile devices or laptops and get immediate access to worldwide news. Also, it is a lot cheaper for the consumer. However, free access isn’t really sustainable for a newspaper business, there has to be some kind of money generating process in order to keep the business running. Also, unlike physical paper, the internet consists of infinite space, which leads to ad spaces becoming significantly cheaper, and so companies prefer buying ad spaces online rather than paying twice the price for the same ad in the physical paper.
The silver bullet for most onlinenewspapers has been to limit the MyPaper founder, Sebastian Hoefinger, holding a presentation about his company in Gothenburg. accessibility to their articles, offering a certain amount for free and then free access for the reader through monthly subscriptions. However, the subscription processes are often overwhelming, asking you for your credit card number, home address, date of birth, gender, interests and so on. None of which are relevant. Basically, online newspapers have yet not understood the necessity of simplifying the subscription process.
It is without hesitation that I can say that most of us has skipped reading an article online due to the exasperating process of paywalls online in order to get access to it. Not only are we too lazy to subscribe to ten different online newspapers every time we see a new interesting article, but it would also be very expensive and holds a great risk with sharing you payment information on several websites. Why should we pay for a whole month when we only want to read that one article? What if I told you that there is a solution to this problem..
MyPaper is a start up based in Lund, created by Sebastian Hoefinger, former MsC student in entrepreneurship and innovation at LUSEM, and is today led by him and two other Lunda alumni. MyPaper is a riskfree and safe web service that offers you to pay for single articles with only one click on your web browser and saves you the trouble of sharing your personal information and payment information to several news sites. All you have to do is create a MyPaper account and you are good to go!
As of right now MyPaper are on the hunt for angel investors, and the start up has participated in several fairs such as, Mediadagarna in Gothenburg, which is the biggest media fair in Sweden, Helsinki media honey pot, held by ArcticStartup, Öresund lift off, where start ups from all around Skåne and Copenhagen come together. They have also taken part in Dragons at the University, which is based on the TV-show “Dragons den” and was held by the Entrepreneurship Committee of LundaEkonomerna.
How does it work?
First off you will have to create a MyPaper account in order to be able to use the service. The good thing, as mentioned earlier, is that you only have to do this once, instead of doing it over and over again everytime you visit a new news site. On your web browser there will be a MyPaper button to press whenever a paywall comes up, and you simply have to press the button in order to get access to the article you are interested in. You only pay for that single article. Your purchases will be saved, and by the end of the month you will be charged for it. The service offers you convenience and simplicity, and will also save you a lot of money.
What MyPaper offers, is where the future is headed, and is standing in favour for both the consumer as well as the newspaper. The simplicity and convenience of the service, and increased availability of highly coveted articles, attracts more readers, which in turn leads to the newspapers generating more customers.
Keep your eyes open for the launch, which will be held sometime this year, and visit MyPaper’s own website to learn more. I truly believe in the idea of MyPaper and am looking forward to see what the future holds for this amazing start up.
