Why Does the Chron Make Web-Friendly Stories Print Only?

One day, the Chronicle may determine that some things play better on the Web than in print-only

​Yesterday the Chronicle ran a front-page profile on Jaron Lanier, the virtual-reality pioneer who has become a vocal critic of Web culture. When I went to look for it online so I could post a link on Twitter, the story was not on SFGate.

I later realized that was because the Chronicle has been experimenting with making front-page stories and some columns in the Sunday paper not available online immediately. The idea is to encourage people to go out and buy the print product instead of simply reading it for free on SFGate.

The Chron makes most of its money from its print product, so the move is understandable. But I don't think it makes much sense to do this with Web culture stories that the Chron's aging print readership won't understand anyway.  A couple of weeks earlier the Chron did a print "exclusive" on how people are using Twitter to get better customer service (which was posted to SFGate later in the week).    

Do you think this story resonated with your dad who hates computers and makes you print out e-mails sent to an account you created for him? Hells no. But it is the kind of story that gets passed all around the Web and would drive traffic to SFGate.

SF Appeal's Eve Batey, the Chron's former online guru, had a few amusing unkind words about her old employer's new strategy yesterday. Says Batey about the Lanier story being unavailable on the Chron's Web site: "I CANNOT OVERSTATE the irony that one of the print only pieces for today is a profile of online pioneer Lanier."

Next up: LolCats! Print only, of course.