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I've said this for years. If there had just been a payment layer built into the web browser spec, we'd be in different world. A monetizable world. It's still no

I've said this for years. If there had just been a payment layer built into the web browser spec, we'd be in different world. A monetizable world. It's still not too late.

kefka 11y ago
"To read this content, please pay $0.01" Yeah. That wouldn't at all be abused.
- oldmanjay 11y ago
  You say that like the ad-supported model is abuse free, or like people would not adapt and develop mechanisms to avoid the abuse.
  - kefka 11y ago
    I remember discussing this back when Xanadu was first brought public. The "hell" scenario is when every page is attempting to monetize content. Not only that, but adverts would charge you to read them, text could be split per word, firewalls would have to be erected for 'financial reasons', and obfuscated pricing that makes the app/IAP scam look like standard sales. It would erect a paywall around almost everything. And that would be eminently sad, considering costs to access and use the net lower all the time. This would make many areas "rich people only" places. Instead, we should be looking at systems that reduce costs to create and store. AT least for the second part, I'm looking at IPFS (ipfs.io) for the storage side of the problem. And it seems they've figured it out. The "create" is still a problem, but it is a problem I think with distributed patronage could solve (payment before creation for established peoples with sufficient social proof, and payment after creation with those with insufficient social proof, and a social proof calculator that adds or subtracts depending on worthiness).
marssaxman 11y ago
The monetizable world is old and boring. We already know how it works. The web was interesting because it offered something new: an opportunity to develop patterns of communication and information exchange that simply would not be possible with the friction of payment or the need to generate a profit.
nas 11y ago
Look at the iOS and Android market. What a utopia of high quality content. /s

I've said this for years. If there had just been a payment layer built into the web browser spec, we'd be in different world. A monetizable world. It's still not too late.

kefka 11y ago

"To read this content, please pay $0.01" Yeah. That wouldn't at all be abused.

oldmanjay 11y ago
You say that like the ad-supported model is abuse free, or like people would not adapt and develop mechanisms to avoid the abuse.
- kefka 11y ago
  I remember discussing this back when Xanadu was first brought public. The "hell" scenario is when every page is attempting to monetize content. Not only that, but adverts would charge you to read them, text could be split per word, firewalls would have to be erected for 'financial reasons', and obfuscated pricing that makes the app/IAP scam look like standard sales. It would erect a paywall around almost everything. And that would be eminently sad, considering costs to access and use the net lower all the time. This would make many areas "rich people only" places. Instead, we should be looking at systems that reduce costs to create and store. AT least for the second part, I'm looking at IPFS (ipfs.io) for the storage side of the problem. And it seems they've figured it out. The "create" is still a problem, but it is a problem I think with distributed patronage could solve (payment before creation for established peoples with sufficient social proof, and payment after creation with those with insufficient social proof, and a social proof calculator that adds or subtracts depending on worthiness).

marssaxman 11y ago

The monetizable world is old and boring. We already know how it works. The web was interesting because it offered something new: an opportunity to develop patterns of communication and information exchange that simply would not be possible with the friction of payment or the need to generate a profit.

nas 11y ago

Look at the iOS and Android market. What a utopia of high quality content. /s