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There's so much friction in the payments system. I've gotta stop what I've doing, jump through all these hoops to sign up, and then do it again if I want to can
by rconti 9y ago
There's so much friction in the payments system. I've gotta stop what I've doing, jump through all these hoops to sign up, and then do it again if I want to cancel. Times every single source I might want to subscribe to.
That's before I even get into the dollars involved.
I subscribe to the Economist print edition (with free digital), and the digital-only NYT and Washington Post. I just don't see myself signing up to the WSJ and the LA Times just to get rid of the paywall the once a month I hit it.
Similarly, I'm not going to subscribe to the Seattle Times (I don't live there anymore, but I like occasionally reading 'local' news from my hometown).
Again, micropayments. If it was 5 cents per article and zero friction, I'd be all over it.
- mmaurizi 9y agoWhat if the site used your GPU to mine 5 cents worth of cryptocurrency while you read the article?
- Joe-Z 9y agoNot the GP, but: nope. Someone grabbing 5 cents from my wallet is not the same as me giving someone 5 cents voluntarily.
- kemitche 9y agoIt would not have to be involuntary. They could put up the paywall with a message that says "Click here to let us mine 5 cents of crypto. We'll let you view this article in exchange."
- Joe-Z 9y agoYou're right, I guess letting some unknown entity use my stuff just feels weird. Money is the perfect medium for impersonal exchange of goods and services.
- granitosaurus 9y agoNo way you could mine $0.05 in one article.
- lazerpants 9y agoYou just described Blendle, pretty much to a T. https://blendle.com https://blendle.com