Is it possible to coerce virality? Won Hee Chang, a young Korean tech entrepreneur, is looking to find out by reviving her grandfather’s magazine with a new model for monetizing online journalism: Readers who share content via social media will be able to access additional articles for free. Later this month, she’ll launch a Web version of Sasangge, the venerated Seoul-based literary magazine that ceased publication in 1970, not long before her grandfather, a pro-democracy activist, met an untimely end.
Content, available in English, will initially be free. When readers log on to the site for the first time, they’ll receive a certain number of points—Chang calls them “karma points”—which will slowly be depleted as they click through articles. To restock on points and maintain access, they will have to share the site’s stories through social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. It’s a bit like multilevel marketing—the more readers spread articles, the greater their access. Those who bristle at being asked to share content can buy points; five points will cost 99¢. “I’m sort of riding off of a gaming model where, instead of pay to play, you can share to play,” Chang says.
