Yeah but the whole idea is that if Quid is seamlessly integrated (e.g., paypal integration is often quite nice and 'painless') -- then more people would pay.
FWIW i have no problem installing a micropayment plugin in Chrome that is connected to my credit card, and paying $.05 or something if I find an article I enjoy. I say this -- but I'm terrified of what future that will bring to the internet. Where now everything is behind a micro-paywall.
It's still not even worth it to ask for it as a writer. I've written a few long-form articles (hour plus reads) that have 25k+ reads on Medium. If I was able to get that readership as an author, I'd be a best-seller -- potentially making $100k or more from my writing.
Mind you, this is insanely successful for a writer.
Even still, if on Medium, 3% of people who read my articles are willing to pay $0.25 for them -- I'd make about about $600.
TBH, I'd rather not bug my readers for that little bit of money.
This is exactly why I don't even bother with donations.
Turned out ads were a nice middle ground for most people on most sites. Most ads were boring banner ads. Most people could ignore them. I wasn't hustling for pennies. People who couldn't pay didn't have to. People didn't have to grapple with loss aversion for visiting a website. The model had issues, but it worked.
Now that ad-blocking is ubiquitous, I'm left running my sites (chiefly, a large forum) as a charity. Unless something changes, the internet will soon be centralized corporation-run megasites like Reddit/Facebook... and then the few charity sites run by individuals who can find a niche not dominated by the former.
I don't see a replacement for ads on the horizon. Micropayments still don't work. Nobody wants to have that "will it be worth it?" anxiety every time they click a link. Not every website on the internet can erect its own paywall. Even if you're in the rare position to negotiate private ad deals, then you're probably big enough to get your own entry on Easylist.
As I speak, there's a frontpage submission lamenting the death of individual/smaller sites and weirdness on the internet. There's much more death to come.
> I say this -- but I'm terrified of what future that will bring to the internet. Where now everything is behind a micro-paywall.
I feel like it couldn't be worse than the current situation where everything is "free" = ad-funded. Especially when those ads are consolidated under few giants.
I'd love an easy, trustworthy system to donate on articles I found particularly useful/entertaining/whatever. They wouldn't have to be behind a paywall. With the scale of the internet, maybe a pay as you will model is possible.
It's like all the paywalls that stop you from consuming premium digital content now. Except micro-paywalls are more pernicious because sites that were once free just require a "small" $0.05 donation before enjoying the rest of the article.
True, but then do you not want it? This is really why ads are better for most. They are fast, passive, and egalitarian. The only problem is the implementation but that's more about politics and regulation than anything else.
FWIW i have no problem installing a micropayment plugin in Chrome that is connected to my credit card, and paying $.05 or something if I find an article I enjoy. I say this -- but I'm terrified of what future that will bring to the internet. Where now everything is behind a micro-paywall.