The WSJ Online was the first major publisher to pioneer a subscription system on the web as publishers struggled to discover how they would recoup huge costs of investing online. The Journal has since been followed by its rival FT.com, among others, which charge for online access.
To celebrate its decade online, WSJ Online is giving what it calls an open house -- free access to the site for 10 consecutive days, kicking off at an event in San Francisco in which the Dow Jones-owned paper will give commuters free passes to the city's metro so they can travel for free.
WSJ Online has put together a special package to celebrate, including the history of WSJ.com with past site designs available to see to show how the web, and online newspapers, have changed over the last decade.
There will also be a look at e-commerce trends from the past decade and predictions for the future, as well as some of the not quite so hot ideas with a look at the best of the worst from the internet boom and past decade.
As internet advertising comes of age, the WSJ looks at what's next in the evolution for ads online.
Gail Griffin, general manager of The Wall Street Journal Online, said: "We are excited to share this milestone anniversary celebration with our subscribers and advertisers. For 10 years, WSJ.com has been the primary source for business news on the web, offering the best in-depth, real-time news and information, as well as award-winning analysis and content. This open house enables visitors to experience our features and get a taste of the great value of the online Journal."
Charles Schwab, Hewlett-Packard and Sprint will sponsor different days of the open house. Each sponsor will own most of the site's impressions that day and will be integrated into the open house promotional advertising, which includes ads in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch and Barron's.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
.jpg)
.jpg)