Are Cryptocurrency Micropayments The Future Of Content Marketing?

Are Cryptocurrency Micropayments The Future Of Content Marketing?

logo
Updated on: May 4th, 2020 2020-05-04 20:15:38
This content has been Fact-Checked.
Clickbait, fake news, yellow journalism – media today is in a poor state. Audiences are sick of sub-par content getting jammed down their throats, but they’re not always willing to pay for good con

Clickbait, fake news, yellow journalism – media today is in a poor state.

Audiences are sick of sub-par content getting jammed down their throats, but they’re not always willing to pay for good content. It’s always going to be easier for clickbait to go viral and generate revenue based on traditional ad models. Other funding models, such as subscriptions and paywalls, have been implemented to mixed success – after all, on the Internet, there’s always the option of free, ad-supported content. Readers also like to consume their content from a range of sources and don’t want to be tied down to a single publisher.

So we need a new way of thinking when it comes to funding good content. Could the future of content lie in cryptocurrency micropayments?

 


Are Cryptocurrency Micropayments The Future Of Content Marketing?

 

Are Cryptocurrency Micropayments The Future Of Content Marketing?

What Are Micropayments?

Micropayments offer an alternative option that has the potential to support high-quality content without locking users into a single, long-term subscription. The concept behind micropayments is that you spend a small amount each time you view content.

Paying per article incentivizes publishers to produce high-quality content that satisfies the audience–if the audience constantly feels ripped off by a content source, they will stop making purchases. Because we do not pay for ad-supported content, we have no recourse if we feel like clickbait has wasted our time.

 

What’s Holding Micropayments Back?

Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies are prone to scaling problems. Billions of minuscule transactions would take up a lot of computing power and incur significant fees. If you are only sending a few cents for an article and a significant proportion gets eaten up in fees, it becomes an ineffective way of funding content.

To get around the inefficiencies and expense of writing small transactions to the blockchain, several organizations are using channels. Rather than recording every single transaction to the blockchain and incurring fees for each one, channel payments are recorded as a collection. The best way to think of it is like keeping a tab at the bar with your credit card. Rather than charging you for each drink, the bartender takes note of everything you order and only charges you at the end.

When a micropayment channel is created, a certain amount of bitcoin is locked into it and each individual payment is signed by the sender. The receiver can either withdraw each individual signed amount, or wait until the channel is closed and withdraw the total. If the receiver waits until the channel is closed and only records this amount to the blockchain, it minimizes the number of transactions, making it more efficient and cheaper.

 

Coinetize

This startup is one of many that are looking to change the economic model for content creation. Coinetize bills itself as an online paywall and resource management system. It allows websites to use their service as a filter that only lets users access content if they pay a fee. Users buy Coinetize Creditswith either Bitcoins or their credit card. When they visit websites that use Coinetize, the user pays for restricted content with their prepurchased credits.

Coinetize is easy for websites to set up. There are several different linking methods; DNS, reverse proxy, page directs and secret folders. These can be set up for free in minutes, without any credit or ID checks. The service charges customers a 1.8% fee, but they also offer 24 hour email support.

 

Brave

The Brave web browser has already achieved renown for bringing lighter ads and faster use to browsing. As part of their service, they now offer Brave Payment, which gives users a way to privately pay their favorite websites. Users can link their external Bitcoin wallet or their credit card to a wallet within the Brave system. If they want to use Brave Payments, they must fund a minimum of $5 each month.

Each month, the contributions are split among the sites that Brave users visit, based on the number of times visited, as well as the amount of time spent on each site. According to Brave’s founder, Brendan Eich, users can “reward the sites whose content they value and wish to support,” all without being tracked.

 

Can Micropayments Bring Back High-Quality Content?

Just like with Uber and AirBnb, you can make a side-hustle with your content. Imagine for a second, that every single blogpost, video and or podcast you publish your fans globally from their phone can send 25 cents, 50 cents or even a dollar for each piece of content. It seems small but it adds up! And above all, it puts the power back into you and your fans. Say, goodbye to depending on ads for revenue.

Although the rise of the internet may have coincided with the decline in content quality, things might not stay this way forever. Peer-to-peer micropayments are an emerging model of funding that show the potential for success.

Coinetize and Brave are just examples. The Dutch app, Blendle, has already demonstrated that some consumers are willing to spend money for the content that they want. Patreon, a platform that allows patrons to donate a set amount of money every time a piece of content is published, has funded over 50 million dollars to its creators.

Micropayments may never topple free content, but hopefully, they can provide a niche market for consumers who want excellent quality without the ads.

Originally published: Maropost 

Ameer Rosic
Ameer’s the co-founder of blockgeeks. He’s an investor and blockchain evangelist, meaning he’s all about investing to bring transparency across the world. You can call him a serial entrepreneur with a couple of startups up his sleeve and tonnes of them in his mind. With over 160K subscribers on youtube, Ameer hosts his own show called #ameerapproved, where he talks about entrepreneurship and shares the latest crypto market updates. He has been a contributor at HuffPost, Due.com, Cryptominded, and VentureBeat. His clients are mostly tech startups that are operating on blockchain technology. Right now Ameer’s thinking about NFTs and their use cases. He might as well talk about it in his next youtube video. You can connect with Ameer on Linkedin and Twitter.

Like what you read? Give us one like or share it to your friends and get +16 bl

99
Please to comment
newest oldest most voted
M
Montix Writer

As a fullservice digital agency, I want to grow with my cliënts’ interests. I feel like they would like to be able to pay with bitcoin or other cryptocurrency’s. How can i make this work? What do I need to know and what are the risks? The site we would like it to be on is: https://www.montix.nl/veelgestelde-vragen/voordelen-typo3/

M
Montix Writer

As a fullservice digital agency, I want to grow with my cliënts’ interests. I feel like they would like to be able to pay with bitcoin or other cryptocurrency’s. How can i make this work? What do I need to know and what are the risks? The site we would like it to be on is: https://www.montix.nl/veelgestelde-vragen/voordelen-typo3/

Dmitry Buterin
Dmitry Buterin

I discussed it with Vitalik a while ago, his biggest question was whether consumers will be willing to pay for content

Dmitry Buterin
Dmitry Buterin

I discussed it with Vitalik a while ago, his biggest question was whether consumers will be willing to pay for content

Dmitry Buterin
Dmitry Buterin

I discussed it with Vitalik a while ago, his biggest question was whether consumers will be willing to pay for content

B
Bunyip Bluegum

CONTENT CREATORS WANTED!

I will be testing a P2P content sharing business model using smart contracts to manage rights and levy microtransactions at the Bank of Queensland hackathon in Brisbane on 3-5 March. The model encourages (and remunerates!) not just the creation but the sharing of material.

I need content to publish!

Please pass my details to any bloggers, vloggers, musicians or creatives who are willing for us to try to share their material as widely as possible and see whether people are willing to pay a couple of cents for it. email:bunyipb123@gmail.com. (No, we will not be making money off the content.)

B
Bunyip Bluegum

CONTENT CREATORS WANTED!

I will be testing a P2P content sharing business model using smart contracts to manage rights and levy microtransactions at the Bank of Queensland hackathon in Brisbane on 3-5 March. The model encourages (and remunerates!) not just the creation but the sharing of material.

I need content to publish!

Please pass my details to any bloggers, vloggers, musicians or creatives who are willing for us to try to share their material as widely as possible and see whether people are willing to pay a couple of cents for it. email:bunyipb123@gmail.com. (No, we will not be making money off the content.)

B
Bunyip Bluegum

CONTENT CREATORS WANTED!

I will be testing a P2P content sharing business model using smart contracts to manage rights and levy microtransactions at the Bank of Queensland hackathon in Brisbane on 3-5 March. The model encourages (and remunerates!) not just the creation but the sharing of material.

I need content to publish!

Please pass my details to any bloggers, vloggers, musicians or creatives who are willing for us to try to share their material as widely as possible and see whether people are willing to pay a couple of cents for it. email:bunyipb123@gmail.com. (No, we will not be making money off the content.)

B
Bunyip Bluegum

Thanks for the article Ameer. I’ve been thinking about this exact issue for a while. Publishing IP on distributed ledgers with smart contracts managing licences and taking micropayments would make copyright collection agencies redundant. I also agree that financially rewarding quality instead of clicks would lead to a decrease in crap content, ads and clickbait.

B
Bunyip Bluegum

Thanks for the article Ameer. I’ve been thinking about this exact issue for a while. Publishing IP on distributed ledgers with smart contracts managing licences and taking micropayments would make copyright collection agencies redundant. I also agree that financially rewarding quality instead of clicks would lead to a decrease in crap content, ads and clickbait.

B
Bunyip Bluegum

Thanks for the article Ameer. I’ve been thinking about this exact issue for a while. Publishing IP on distributed ledgers with smart contracts managing licences and taking micropayments would make copyright collection agencies redundant. I also agree that financially rewarding quality instead of clicks would lead to a decrease in crap content, ads and clickbait.

Jenn Cloud
Jenn Cloud

I am particularly excited about the possibilities with blockchain in this particular area! I would love to see all of the creators who make the internet so exciting be able to make a fantastic living from their creations by eliminating payment middlemen!

Jenn Cloud
Jenn Cloud

I am particularly excited about the possibilities with blockchain in this particular area! I would love to see all of the creators who make the internet so exciting be able to make a fantastic living from their creations by eliminating payment middlemen!

Jenn Cloud
Jenn Cloud

I am particularly excited about the possibilities with blockchain in this particular area! I would love to see all of the creators who make the internet so exciting be able to make a fantastic living from their creations by eliminating payment middlemen!

B
Bernd-Axel Hugelmann

Reduction of transaction costs on peer to peer basis is one of the logical cornerstones for successfull micropayment possibilities. Smart contracts and fulfilment is another cornerstone. As there are more yet to come. We are working on it.

B
Bernd-Axel Hugelmann

Reduction of transaction costs on peer to peer basis is one of the logical cornerstones for successfull micropayment possibilities. Smart contracts and fulfilment is another cornerstone. As there are more yet to come. We are working on it.

B
Bernd-Axel Hugelmann

Reduction of transaction costs on peer to peer basis is one of the logical cornerstones for successfull micropayment possibilities. Smart contracts and fulfilment is another cornerstone. As there are more yet to come. We are working on it.

E
Elio-David Di Iorio

Timely article for me…been involved with musicoin which does exactly this for artists in the music industry. https://medium.com/@musicoin

E
Elio-David Di Iorio

Timely article for me…been involved with musicoin which does exactly this for artists in the music industry. https://medium.com/@musicoin

E
Elio-David Di Iorio

Timely article for me…been involved with musicoin which does exactly this for artists in the music industry. https://medium.com/@musicoin

Hungry for knowledge?
New guides and courses each week
Looking to invest?
Market data, analysis, and reports
Just curious?
A community of blockchain experts to help

Get started today

Already have an account? Sign In