As newspapers try to figure out how to be Web-bier, the Web is trying to be more like the print product. Google has introduced a new feature called Fast Flip that mimics the tactile experience of thumbing through print pages.

David Carr at the New York Times calls it a glimpse of the future of news — and a potential step toward monetizing print online.

Here at Decoder, we have no idea what the revenue split on Fast Flip entails, and there is still no telling whether it will result in a meaningful revenue stream for publishers, but it kicks the can down the road in a very practical direction. Fast Flip is an innovation in thinking and presentation, a back-to-the-future moment where readers can once again experience the thrill and serendipity of flipping their way through pages to amusing or enlightening ends. Amid the entropy and calamity afflicting news providers, the outlines of what news in the future might look like are beginning to emerge.