[tbirrell]

2 cont.) and because ads are noisy, invasive, garish, and distracting.

Let's not solve this by figuring out how to circumvent ad blockers.

One idea I've been toying with is a system where I can pay the content creator directly. Good article? Have a nickel. Funny YT video? Here is a dime. Skip the middle man. Patreon does something like this, but we need a system that is anonymous, scalable to the whole internet, and above all, easy to use.

[Mz]

This can already be done, but the micropayments start at $1 and the content creator gets about 67¢ of it. The sweet spot is a $5 tip, where the vast majority goes to the content creator:

http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-to-make-...

[tbirrell]

That's still an awful lot of money. I would be much less likely to tip if I was shelling out $1+ each time. Nickles and dimes are pocket change to me, but they add up.

[Mz]

You do not have to tip every single time. But it allows a means to tip, without setting a monthly obligation, like Patreon.

I still plan to set up a Patreon account, but I intend to keep this option open for folks who want to casually support my work without having to make a long term commitment.

I have done some reading and thinking on the subject. There are inherent problems with micropayments that I don't think will ever be resolved with regards to paying the cost of moving the money. I don't think that surcharge will ever get so low that it is viable to leave a nickel or a dime. At best, it might be possible to arrange a prefunded wallet with a service and leave a nickel, but I am not sure if that is viable or even what the point is.

If you feel (for example) that my writing is worth a nickel a page, leave a dollar for every 20th article. It isn't a big thing.

Paying the content creator directly is a much more efficient means of supporting content creation than ads or product sales. While I do have ads on some of my sites (but not on all of them) and while I am still exploring products, like t-shirts and what not, if you spend $20 on a t-shirt, the content creator gets a small cut of that. It puts much more money into their pocket to just tip them $5. So, unless you seriously value that t-shirt and want it in specific, it just makes a lot more sense to tip than to expect content creators to also put time and energy into figuring out product design on top of writing/comicking/whatever.

Frankly, if they are good at creating t-shirts, they can make money at that without necessarily writing. They can do a Zazzle shop or an Etsy shop or whatever. Those folks aren't really in the business of content creation. And it is fine if they like making t-shirts and stuff, but if you really want good content online, it just makes more sense to me for people to tip and pay for the content directly.

[jdsin]

Absolutely! Some websites I can't even scroll properly without disabling ads. I like the Patreon idea, because of not middleman, so it certainly appeals to an audience. But I don't think its scalable. With ad networks like Google, I do not have to create an account anywhere, or link my credit card. Google takes care of compensating both content creaters and advertisers.