Slate says: "These failures tell us much about what customers refused to pay for on the Web. But they tell us little about what customers will pay for. Not all successful paid sites are alike, but they all share at least one of these attributes: 1) They are so amazing as to be irreplaceable. 2) They are beautifully designed and executed and extremely easy to use. 3) They are stupendously authoritative."

37signals adds: "FT and WSJ succeed because of the kind of information they deliver: financial analysis and info that enables its readers to invest wisely, manage a business better, and/or improve the bottom line."