11 ms·

This is exactly the problem, and it's a difficult one to solve. I've seen research suggesting that the cognitive cost of filling out payment forms and giving ou

This is exactly the problem, and it's a difficult one to solve. I've seen research suggesting that the cognitive cost of filling out payment forms and giving out credit card information makes it easier to pay $10 than $1, since it doesn't feel "worth" all that effort to pay only one dollar. Unfortunately this is part of what reinforces the market dominance of mega-retailers like Amazon, because if you already have an account with them, the cognitive cost of signing up has already been paid.

mysterypie 9y ago
> cognitive cost of filling out payment forms, etc. That's exactly the case for me. I spend physical cash with much less hesitation than for online purchases. I'd probably spend way more freely online if I didn't have to keep track of the purchase just in case something goes wrong, like getting mis-charged, double-billed, a continuing subscription I wasn't expecting, or just to remember why that $1 debit appears on my statement. As an aside: It's curious to see that this made it to the HN front page and already has more than 25 comments, yet nobody has commented on the original article's own page which does allow commenting. Well, there is one comment that says, "Great analysis", but that was me just to check if commenting actually works. I suppose that ties in with the same idea -- it's not worth the "cognitive cost" to make a comment no one will read.
- ambrosite 9y ago
  > it's not worth the "cognitive cost" to make a comment Their comment form requires login or signup. I'm already signed up and logged in here. That's reason enough for me to post here and not there. I would never create an account just to leave a comment unless it was someplace where I intended to visit and comment often.
  - sitkack 9y ago
    So if true federated non-statist, non-corp entity login actually worked we would probably comment freely and purchase stuff in 0.10-0.50 increments? Mozilla should be a payments platform.
    - thinkloop 9y ago
      I like the idea of no registration by having the browser locally generate a public/private key pair for use on the site.
    - pjc50 9y ago
      The browser vendors are the only actors who might be able to make this work.
      - majewsky 9y ago
        Seeing how Google makes basically all its money from internet ads, I don't think they have any interest to enable other monetization schemes. (Unless, of course, something makes them believe that ads are going to become unattractive and they need to pivot.)
  - miranda_rights 9y ago
    Not only that, but by now I've figured out that the comment sections of most sites are toxic with little, if any, moderation. HN has a good moderation set-up, respectful members, etc. I try to avoid even reading the comments of other websites since they just end up being depressing.
    - test1235 9y ago
      BBC is especially depressing.
      - redblacktree 9y ago
        You should try Fox News.
- gldalmaso 9y ago
  The mobile stores come closer to that less hesitation scenario I think. Your card info is already there, you only need to input your pass to spend the money. Though PayPal doesn't feel like that, I guess being in the browser is off-putting in terms of spending because of added risk.
derekmhewitt 9y ago
I feel like a reasonable solution to this might be a digital currency? Any coin with a fast enough block time that using the site is fluid would be fine (one minute or less) and could allow for a small value exchange without any further authentication. Example: you're presented with the meme of your choice with the watermark and for X coin value you can remove the watermark, you send X to the requested endpoint (maybe sign up for an account or you're given a location where the new meme will appear once payment is confirmed) and you get your un-watermarked meme. You leave happy, they've received value for their services.

mysterypie 9y ago

> cognitive cost of filling out payment forms, etc. That's exactly the case for me. I spend physical cash with much less hesitation than for online purchases. I'd probably spend way more freely online if I didn't have to keep track of the purchase just in case something goes wrong, like getting mis-charged, double-billed, a continuing subscription I wasn't expecting, or just to remember why that $1 debit appears on my statement. As an aside: It's curious to see that this made it to the HN front page and already has more than 25 comments, yet nobody has commented on the original article's own page which does allow commenting. Well, there is one comment that says, "Great analysis", but that was me just to check if commenting actually works. I suppose that ties in with the same idea -- it's not worth the "cognitive cost" to make a comment no one will read.

ambrosite 9y ago
> it's not worth the "cognitive cost" to make a comment Their comment form requires login or signup. I'm already signed up and logged in here. That's reason enough for me to post here and not there. I would never create an account just to leave a comment unless it was someplace where I intended to visit and comment often.
- sitkack 9y ago
  So if true federated non-statist, non-corp entity login actually worked we would probably comment freely and purchase stuff in 0.10-0.50 increments? Mozilla should be a payments platform.
  - thinkloop 9y ago
    I like the idea of no registration by having the browser locally generate a public/private key pair for use on the site.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    The browser vendors are the only actors who might be able to make this work.
    - majewsky 9y ago
      Seeing how Google makes basically all its money from internet ads, I don't think they have any interest to enable other monetization schemes. (Unless, of course, something makes them believe that ads are going to become unattractive and they need to pivot.)
- miranda_rights 9y ago
  Not only that, but by now I've figured out that the comment sections of most sites are toxic with little, if any, moderation. HN has a good moderation set-up, respectful members, etc. I try to avoid even reading the comments of other websites since they just end up being depressing.
  - test1235 9y ago
    BBC is especially depressing.
    - redblacktree 9y ago
      You should try Fox News.
gldalmaso 9y ago
The mobile stores come closer to that less hesitation scenario I think. Your card info is already there, you only need to input your pass to spend the money. Though PayPal doesn't feel like that, I guess being in the browser is off-putting in terms of spending because of added risk.

derekmhewitt 9y ago

I feel like a reasonable solution to this might be a digital currency? Any coin with a fast enough block time that using the site is fluid would be fine (one minute or less) and could allow for a small value exchange without any further authentication. Example: you're presented with the meme of your choice with the watermark and for X coin value you can remove the watermark, you send X to the requested endpoint (maybe sign up for an account or you're given a location where the new meme will appear once payment is confirmed) and you get your un-watermarked meme. You leave happy, they've received value for their services.