Comments on: The corruption of micropayments http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/ by Jeff Jarvis Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:40:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Tom Foremski http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-398434 Tom Foremski Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:14:28 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-398434 Virtual cash could be used by newspapers as a surrogate micro-payments system for online content. For example, local advertisers could pay readers with virtual cash in exchange for viewing ads or filling out a survey. A local furniture store might offer virtual cash to readers of the "Home" section of a newspaper. And newspapers could use virtual cash to pay for reader generated content. Newspapers could create a real economy around trading news services and content. This is a much more engaging business model than selling an ad - a marketing message sitting inside a box - easy to ignore and increasingly ineffective. Virtual cash could be used by newspapers as a surrogate micro-payments system for online content. For example, local advertisers could pay readers with virtual cash in exchange for viewing ads or filling out a survey. A local furniture store might offer virtual cash to readers of the “Home” section of a newspaper.

And newspapers could use virtual cash to pay for reader generated content. Newspapers could create a real economy around trading news services and content.

This is a much more engaging business model than selling an ad – a marketing message sitting inside a box – easy to ignore and increasingly ineffective.

]]> By: OkinKun http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-398055 OkinKun Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:29:21 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-398055 I recently read the book "Rainbows End", and in it is portrayed a future where micro-payments are common for almost everything you do, in relation to the digital world... Thankfully I doubt this will ever become the norm. The book was written a few years back, during the time when micropayments were being tried out by various online companies. Thankfully, for the most part, all attempts have completely failed. Users hate micropayments, and it is impossible to create a micropayment system that they like, due to the nature of such a thing. It has nothing to do with the content creators liking it or not, the users will have the end say in this. And simply put, they wont participate in systems that use micropayments, microtransactions, or any other system that charges you frequent small fees for useless digital junk. I recently read the book “Rainbows End”, and in it is portrayed a future where micro-payments are common for almost everything you do, in relation to the digital world… Thankfully I doubt this will ever become the norm. The book was written a few years back, during the time when micropayments were being tried out by various online companies. Thankfully, for the most part, all attempts have completely failed.
Users hate micropayments, and it is impossible to create a micropayment system that they like, due to the nature of such a thing.

It has nothing to do with the content creators liking it or not, the users will have the end say in this. And simply put, they wont participate in systems that use micropayments, microtransactions, or any other system that charges you frequent small fees for useless digital junk.

]]> By: Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » May 15, 2009: A lot less zoning-board recaps http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394406 Journalista - the news weblog of The Comics Journal » Blog Archive » May 15, 2009: A lot less zoning-board recaps Fri, 15 May 2009 13:07:10 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394406 [...] (Link via Jeff Jarvis.) [...] [...] (Link via Jeff Jarvis.) [...]

]]> By: Bob Wyman http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394382 Bob Wyman Thu, 14 May 2009 21:29:45 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394382 Ryan wrote: "As an online editor, I’m careful not to let page views cloud journalistic decisions"... Let me get this straight... You're saying that you don't let your user's desires or evidence of their needs influence what you write about? You write what you think they *should* be reading, not what they tell you they *will* read? That might make you feel good, but does it do anything useful for your readers? This seems like a means for guaranteeing that you'll whatever audience you might still have... Your attitude reminds me of endless efforts to get my 16 year-old daughter to eat her vegetables... I put them on her plate because I think she *should* eat them even though she doesn't want them and rarely eats the things anyway. The result is that she only has dinner with me because its free and she has no other choice. If she had a choice, she'd probably eat elsewhere -- in some world where they only had steak, potatoes and ice cream and didn't even know that broccoli existed. In any case, what I can do as a parent is very different from what you should be doing as a journalist. bob wyman Ryan wrote: “As an online editor, I’m careful not to let page views cloud journalistic decisions”…
Let me get this straight… You’re saying that you don’t let your user’s desires or evidence of their needs influence what you write about? You write what you think they *should* be reading, not what they tell you they *will* read? That might make you feel good, but does it do anything useful for your readers?
This seems like a means for guaranteeing that you’ll whatever audience you might still have…

Your attitude reminds me of endless efforts to get my 16 year-old daughter to eat her vegetables… I put them on her plate because I think she *should* eat them even though she doesn’t want them and rarely eats the things anyway. The result is that she only has dinner with me because its free and she has no other choice. If she had a choice, she’d probably eat elsewhere — in some world where they only had steak, potatoes and ice cream and didn’t even know that broccoli existed. In any case, what I can do as a parent is very different from what you should be doing as a journalist.

bob wyman

]]> By: Greg Golebiewski http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394364 Greg Golebiewski Thu, 14 May 2009 17:44:44 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394364 Journalist who fear the market and micropayments remind me of US teachers who for years have been fighting any proposal of "standardized" measures of their work. No exams, no peer review and certainly no vouchers. It seems that poor journalist just like poor teachers will always be the first to fight the market. Journalist who fear the market and micropayments remind me of US teachers who for years have been fighting any proposal of “standardized” measures of their work. No exams, no peer review and certainly no vouchers. It seems that poor journalist just like poor teachers will always be the first to fight the market.

]]> By: Digitale medier, koncepter & livet som sådan – Mikromuligheder i mikrobetalinger http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394314 Digitale medier, koncepter & livet som sådan – Mikromuligheder i mikrobetalinger Thu, 14 May 2009 07:03:24 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394314 [...] noget i mikrobetalinger kræver det, at de enkelte journalister begynder at udvikle deres brands og betragte det som et marked. At man betaler for det indhold en givet journalist kommer til markedet med. Det kunne f.eks. være [...] [...] noget i mikrobetalinger kræver det, at de enkelte journalister begynder at udvikle deres brands og betragte det som et marked. At man betaler for det indhold en givet journalist kommer til markedet med. Det kunne f.eks. være [...]

]]> By: Why micropayments won’t corrupt journalism | Dave Lee / jBlog http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394284 Why micropayments won’t corrupt journalism | Dave Lee / jBlog Wed, 13 May 2009 19:53:02 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394284 [...] Jeff Jarvis hops in: Greg Horowitz raises an issue with micropayments that I haven’t seen discussed, one I’d think the heavy-duty journalists would be fretting about: If readers can buy individual articles, then won’t their writers be judged on the revenue they bring in and won’t their editors be motivated to assign more of what sells. Now I believe journalism needs market pressures to be responsive to its market. But every time anyone talks about giving the public what they want, some purist will respond worrying about the corruption of that: the Paris Hilton factor. [...] [...] Jeff Jarvis hops in: Greg Horowitz raises an issue with micropayments that I haven’t seen discussed, one I’d think the heavy-duty journalists would be fretting about: If readers can buy individual articles, then won’t their writers be judged on the revenue they bring in and won’t their editors be motivated to assign more of what sells. Now I believe journalism needs market pressures to be responsive to its market. But every time anyone talks about giving the public what they want, some purist will respond worrying about the corruption of that: the Paris Hilton factor. [...]

]]> By: Ryan http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394282 Ryan Wed, 13 May 2009 19:30:35 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394282 The fear of micropayments infiltrating journalistic decisions is the same as the fear of the page view. As an online editor, I'm careful not to let page views cloud journalistic decisions, nor will I use purchased articles to make editorial judgments should we go to a micropayment model. There will likely be sites, and some successful ones, who leverage payments for stories, but I think the more established journalistic organizations will prevent that from happening, much like the page view. The fear of micropayments infiltrating journalistic decisions is the same as the fear of the page view. As an online editor, I’m careful not to let page views cloud journalistic decisions, nor will I use purchased articles to make editorial judgments should we go to a micropayment model. There will likely be sites, and some successful ones, who leverage payments for stories, but I think the more established journalistic organizations will prevent that from happening, much like the page view.

]]> By: Marco_Lugon http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394277 Marco_Lugon Wed, 13 May 2009 18:02:36 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394277 Is the effect (on journalists) of micro-payments really that different than the affect from page views? If no one reads a story you wrote, you won't get any page views, and your editor will be disinclined to have you write more stories ... they'll send it to the person who is getting page views for their work. The main difference is that you're making people pay it up front; rather than later (via their 'presumed' attention to the ads). Is the effect (on journalists) of micro-payments really that different than the affect from page views? If no one reads a story you wrote, you won’t get any page views, and your editor will be disinclined to have you write more stories … they’ll send it to the person who is getting page views for their work. The main difference is that you’re making people pay it up front; rather than later (via their ‘presumed’ attention to the ads).

]]> By: Geert Lovink http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394276 Geert Lovink Wed, 13 May 2009 17:43:11 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394276 Not if the payments go to the author directly. Micropayment systems can prevent the old broadcast media danger of Paris Hilton by going P2P from day one. Not if the payments go to the author directly. Micropayment systems can prevent the old broadcast media danger of Paris Hilton by going P2P from day one.

]]> By: Jake Posey http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394275 Jake Posey Wed, 13 May 2009 17:37:05 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394275 If I recall in the book, that is the beauty of Google and the Internet. Journalists are no longer held hostage by the local audience. The journalist can now reach a worldwide audience. Instead of selling stories by the article, newspapers, though, could adopt the Skype model where the readers buy credits and they are used up on their story reading. Digg should be the first one to adopt this model. Give the option to the journalists to charge readers for their stories. It would attract mainstream journalists to their site and let the crowds decide if a story is worth paying for in the mix of a bunch of free stories. Publishers could also post pay-for articles on the Digg website in hopes of opening up a new revenue stream. If I recall in the book, that is the beauty of Google and the Internet. Journalists are no longer held hostage by the local audience. The journalist can now reach a worldwide audience. Instead of selling stories by the article, newspapers, though, could adopt the Skype model where the readers buy credits and they are used up on their story reading.

Digg should be the first one to adopt this model. Give the option to the journalists to charge readers for their stories. It would attract mainstream journalists to their site and let the crowds decide if a story is worth paying for in the mix of a bunch of free stories. Publishers could also post pay-for articles on the Digg website in hopes of opening up a new revenue stream.

]]> By: Tobe Berkovitz http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394274 Tobe Berkovitz Wed, 13 May 2009 17:24:42 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394274 Wow. Just like TV news. Wow. Just like TV news.

]]> By: Alex http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394271 Alex Wed, 13 May 2009 16:39:17 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394271 a "purist" like you, jeff??! add this to the running list of of veiled defenses of the "old way." can't wait for these contradictions to be sussed out in the light of day. then, and only then, might we hope to come up with a true new model for journalism. a “purist” like you, jeff??!

add this to the running list of of veiled defenses of the “old way.”

can’t wait for these contradictions to be sussed out in the light of day. then, and only then, might we hope to come up with a true new model for journalism.

]]> By: Undertoad http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394264 Undertoad Wed, 13 May 2009 15:08:30 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394264 Please read Clay Shirky on micropayments. http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/02/why-small-payments-wont-save-publishers/ The entire micropayments discussion is a waste of time. They won't work. They never work. Please read Clay Shirky on micropayments.

http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/02/why-small-payments-wont-save-publishers/

The entire micropayments discussion is a waste of time. They won’t work. They never work.

]]> By: Ed http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394261 Ed Wed, 13 May 2009 13:58:09 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394261 Already we are seeing a migration on the web to only seeing the top stories on websites. What about the interesting quirky and niche stories? Already we are seeing a migration on the web to only seeing the top stories on websites. What about the interesting quirky and niche stories?

]]> By: Ellie Behling http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394256 Ellie Behling Wed, 13 May 2009 13:28:01 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394256 On one hand, some days I wish I was paid per story. I do find that people are more likely to actually click on the things I worked harder on. But on the other hand, I still agree with this post and think paying journalists this way is a corrupt way to do things. I don't like the territory it gets into. There are boring stories we need to write as responsible journalists, and if no one paid me for them, I'd stop writing them. On one hand, some days I wish I was paid per story. I do find that people are more likely to actually click on the things I worked harder on. But on the other hand, I still agree with this post and think paying journalists this way is a corrupt way to do things. I don’t like the territory it gets into. There are boring stories we need to write as responsible journalists, and if no one paid me for them, I’d stop writing them.

]]> By: Joe Mescher http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394255 Joe Mescher Wed, 13 May 2009 13:18:33 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394255 Then again... Micropayments could also 'Free' journalists into the world of 'Freelancing', turning them into paid guns for hire, working for multiple publications... The market will determine what sells, right Jeff? Then again…

Micropayments could also ‘Free’ journalists into the world of ‘Freelancing’, turning them into paid guns for hire, working for multiple publications…

The market will determine what sells, right Jeff?

]]> By: Dorian http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394254 Dorian Wed, 13 May 2009 12:48:30 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394254 This trend began the day pageviews started being measured. All over -- not just at Gawker -- stories started to be evaluated on how many "hits" (terminology has since changed) they got. This trend began the day pageviews started being measured. All over — not just at Gawker — stories started to be evaluated on how many “hits” (terminology has since changed) they got.

]]> By: Robert M. http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394253 Robert M. Wed, 13 May 2009 12:48:25 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394253 Brand + Gossip = $ ...not sure it's enough. Brand + Gossip = $ …not sure it’s enough.

]]> By: zywotkowitz http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/05/13/the-corruption-of-micropayments/#comment-394252 zywotkowitz Wed, 13 May 2009 12:29:15 +0000 http://www.buzzmachine.com/?p=4669#comment-394252 Not the "Paris Hilton" factor ... the "Maureen Dowd/Seymour Hirsh" factor. Noone will pay for gossip, since by definition gossip will start flying around the net on its own. But while people might be willing to read a new "quality" article by Michael Lewis, it's not clear that they are willing to pay for dull "objective" news, or non-partisan analysis. If micropayments for "serious" material could work, Olbermann and Beck or Dowd and Hirsh would be the ones most likely to succeed. Not the “Paris Hilton” factor … the “Maureen Dowd/Seymour Hirsh” factor.

Noone will pay for gossip, since by definition gossip will start flying around the net on its own.

But while people might be willing to read a new “quality” article by Michael Lewis, it’s not clear that they are willing to pay for dull “objective” news, or non-partisan analysis.

If micropayments for “serious” material could work, Olbermann and Beck or Dowd and Hirsh would be the ones most likely to succeed.

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