It looks like the New York Times' TimesSelect program, in which readers have to shell out cash to read the opinions of venerable op-ed pundits, is resulting in the slow disappearance of Paul Krugman from the blogosphere. It's a natural cycle, really - once you put Krugman's prized opinions behind a paid content wall, fewer bloggers will read his stories and even fewer bloggers will link to Krugman. Over time, bloggers will simply gravitate to other pundits. Wasn't it Def Leppard who proclaimed "It's better to burn out than fade away?"

Well, according to Independent Sources (via Marginal Revolution), Paul Krugman is fading away:

"Ever since the New York Times placed its opinion columnists behind the $49.95 / year TimesSelect wall in mid-September, Krugman has been the topic of fewer blog posts. Blogpulse’s trend tools show how often the phrase “Paul Krugman” was mentioned in blogs over the last six months... It looks like there is a clear dropoff after mid-September. Krugman hasn’t had a “hit” since the wall went up almost two months ago. He had a dry spell in early summer, but it only lasted a month."

UPDATE: If you check the comments, I've been exposed as a metalhead, glam-rock-loving Def Leppard fan. Turns out the words "It's better to burn out than fade away" should be properly attributed to Neil Young, NOT to Def Leppard. OK, I stand corrected. But can we at least give Def Leppard credit for: "Gunter glieben glauchen globen"?