4 ms·

RescueTime just started using Tipjoy. Give 'em some love.

18 points by ivankirigin 19y ago

ivankirigin 19y ago
This is actually a really interesting experiment in monetization of free web applications.
immad 19y ago
I don't see the tipjoy button update: I see, I have to login..
- ivankirigin 19y ago
  They have it most places, but not the landing page. If anyone doesn't already have an account (and is on a Windows or OS X box), they should make one and start using RescueTime immediately. I use it religiously.
  - axod 19y ago
    Does rescuetime show how much time you spend using rescuetime? Do you have to install it a second time to track that? ;)
    - mdemare 19y ago
      Eight hours and three minutes (since november 07). vs. 22 hours on news.yc and 313 on textmate.
      - ivankirigin 19y ago
        http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=125888 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=125888
deleted 19y ago
[deleted]
jyu 19y ago
Tipjoy suggestion, not specifically RescueTime related: Could you make it so that if you've tipped the blog/website over some threshold amount, the advertising on the site would disappear? Kind of like becoming a premium member?
- ivankirigin 19y ago
  It's an interesting idea, certainly. Some have suggested it's a bad idea, that it would be better to just do what we do and let the dust settle on what kind of advertising people accept. It would probably involve a deal with an ad provider, with some percentage being split between the site owner and the ad network owners. It would also probably need to last for a little while, like an hour or a day. The biggest problem is that it is competing with free. People that would use this would probably just use adBlock, no?
  - jyu 19y ago
    You don't need to involve ad providers. This is solely the decision of the site owner, who installs the topjoy widget. I don't remember where it was published, but there was evidence that regular visitors have near 0% CTR. Instead of relying on the $0 advertising revenue of your loyal readership, makes more sense to let them tip you and read your content. The added bonus of eliminating the advertising noise could increase tipping rate/amount. I'm not sure what else you have planned, but it may be good to focus on features that could increase tipping rate of loyal readerships. Me for instance, I have ad blockers up, and I wouldn't mind tipping Economist or NYT $5/mo to avoid ads when I'm away from my home comp.
    - ivankirigin 19y ago
      The NYT had to go free because it's gated content couldn't make enough money. One might think this implies that there just aren't enough people like you that would support the site. I think that could easily be an aberration in the distribution model. Easy voluntary payments are a middle way. Involving an Ad group would make it easier to deploy, unless the Ad owners gave some backlash.

18 points by ivankirigin 19y ago

ivankirigin 19y ago

This is actually a really interesting experiment in monetization of free web applications.

immad 19y ago

I don't see the tipjoy button update: I see, I have to login..

ivankirigin 19y ago
They have it most places, but not the landing page. If anyone doesn't already have an account (and is on a Windows or OS X box), they should make one and start using RescueTime immediately. I use it religiously.
- axod 19y ago
  Does rescuetime show how much time you spend using rescuetime? Do you have to install it a second time to track that? ;)
  - mdemare 19y ago
    Eight hours and three minutes (since november 07). vs. 22 hours on news.yc and 313 on textmate.
    - ivankirigin 19y ago
      http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=125888 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=125888

deleted 19y ago

[deleted]

jyu 19y ago

Tipjoy suggestion, not specifically RescueTime related: Could you make it so that if you've tipped the blog/website over some threshold amount, the advertising on the site would disappear? Kind of like becoming a premium member?

ivankirigin 19y ago
It's an interesting idea, certainly. Some have suggested it's a bad idea, that it would be better to just do what we do and let the dust settle on what kind of advertising people accept. It would probably involve a deal with an ad provider, with some percentage being split between the site owner and the ad network owners. It would also probably need to last for a little while, like an hour or a day. The biggest problem is that it is competing with free. People that would use this would probably just use adBlock, no?
- jyu 19y ago
  You don't need to involve ad providers. This is solely the decision of the site owner, who installs the topjoy widget. I don't remember where it was published, but there was evidence that regular visitors have near 0% CTR. Instead of relying on the $0 advertising revenue of your loyal readership, makes more sense to let them tip you and read your content. The added bonus of eliminating the advertising noise could increase tipping rate/amount. I'm not sure what else you have planned, but it may be good to focus on features that could increase tipping rate of loyal readerships. Me for instance, I have ad blockers up, and I wouldn't mind tipping Economist or NYT $5/mo to avoid ads when I'm away from my home comp.
  - ivankirigin 19y ago
    The NYT had to go free because it's gated content couldn't make enough money. One might think this implies that there just aren't enough people like you that would support the site. I think that could easily be an aberration in the distribution model. Easy voluntary payments are a middle way. Involving an Ad group would make it easier to deploy, unless the Ad owners gave some backlash.