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I think failures of BitcoinTip and flattr and later relative failure of Steem.it shows that there is really no market for micropayments for content. But what d

I think failures of BitcoinTip and flattr and later relative failure of Steem.it shows that there is really no market for micropayments for content. But what do I do know, maybe ethereum is different.

convery 9y ago
Isn't the main issue converting 'analog' money into digital? I think Twitch was pretty successful with their tipping system..
repomies691 9y ago
I think it has been quite obvious for very long time that in general there is no market for micropayments/microtransactions. I don't see why on earth someone would be willing to make small transactions all the time. Normal people prefer doing less transactions than more. That's why subscription services are popular.
- maxbrody 9y ago
  CEO here. It's not that micro-transactions will replace macro-transactions, but that micro-transactions provide a new type of behavior for people to choose from. Rather than give a value that is network-specific (like a "like"), you give and receive currencies that have actual value outside of the network you are in.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
chejazi 9y ago
We think altruism isn't a good model -- people aren't willing to pay for things which have already been delivered (e.g. content). This is why we're starting with bounties. The title of this submission is a little misleading - when you upvote an answer on Cent, you're effectively allocating a portion of the bounty to that answer. re: Ethereum. We definitely think there is huge potential for decentralized apps (dapps) and that Ethereum is at the forefront of making them happen. One HUGE barrier to adoption is that, aside from maybe having a gpu that can mine a tiny bit, your only gateway to getting Ether is by buying it, e.g. through Coinbase. Without Ether, you can't use any of the dapps, and if it's just a bunch of speculators holding Ether, the dapps may never gain traction. Fundamentally, we believe that currencies are meant to be earned, and we want to be a mechanism for people new to the decentralized world to get involved by earning them.
Kiro 9y ago
I wouldn't call Steemit a failure.
Torai 9y ago
I think donations will be massively used when the necessary conditions are met: - One platform/standard to donate to or receive for any content on the internet. - Ease of use, secure online wallet. - Very low transaction fees, accepting donations from say 10 cents. Flattr is subscription oriented and most people don't like having a recurrent expense. Steem.it, like Cent.co are limited to content on their site, and there is much better content in the internet that most people would donate first. So the question is how to make this platform/standard and get youtube, twitter, facebook, quora... adopt it. Some rely heavily on advertising and I don't think they are interested to change that business model yet.
- Semaphor 9y ago
  > - Very low transaction fees, accepting donations from say 10 cents. That is a feature of the Iota coin, transaction fees are zero. Of course there are some other problems, but in general, it would be perfect for such micropayments.

convery 9y ago

Isn't the main issue converting 'analog' money into digital? I think Twitch was pretty successful with their tipping system..

repomies691 9y ago

I think it has been quite obvious for very long time that in general there is no market for micropayments/microtransactions. I don't see why on earth someone would be willing to make small transactions all the time. Normal people prefer doing less transactions than more. That's why subscription services are popular.

maxbrody 9y ago
CEO here. It's not that micro-transactions will replace macro-transactions, but that micro-transactions provide a new type of behavior for people to choose from. Rather than give a value that is network-specific (like a "like"), you give and receive currencies that have actual value outside of the network you are in.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

chejazi 9y ago

We think altruism isn't a good model -- people aren't willing to pay for things which have already been delivered (e.g. content). This is why we're starting with bounties. The title of this submission is a little misleading - when you upvote an answer on Cent, you're effectively allocating a portion of the bounty to that answer. re: Ethereum. We definitely think there is huge potential for decentralized apps (dapps) and that Ethereum is at the forefront of making them happen. One HUGE barrier to adoption is that, aside from maybe having a gpu that can mine a tiny bit, your only gateway to getting Ether is by buying it, e.g. through Coinbase. Without Ether, you can't use any of the dapps, and if it's just a bunch of speculators holding Ether, the dapps may never gain traction. Fundamentally, we believe that currencies are meant to be earned, and we want to be a mechanism for people new to the decentralized world to get involved by earning them.

Kiro 9y ago

I wouldn't call Steemit a failure.

Torai 9y ago

I think donations will be massively used when the necessary conditions are met: - One platform/standard to donate to or receive for any content on the internet. - Ease of use, secure online wallet. - Very low transaction fees, accepting donations from say 10 cents. Flattr is subscription oriented and most people don't like having a recurrent expense. Steem.it, like Cent.co are limited to content on their site, and there is much better content in the internet that most people would donate first. So the question is how to make this platform/standard and get youtube, twitter, facebook, quora... adopt it. Some rely heavily on advertising and I don't think they are interested to change that business model yet.

Semaphor 9y ago
> - Very low transaction fees, accepting donations from say 10 cents. That is a feature of the Iota coin, transaction fees are zero. Of course there are some other problems, but in general, it would be perfect for such micropayments.