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Honestly, I'm not sure this micropayments for articles will ever take off. I tried a service recently that is trying to make that monetisation method a reality,

Honestly, I'm not sure this micropayments for articles will ever take off. I tried a service recently that is trying to make that monetisation method a reality, and every time I clicked on an article, I'd have to do that mental calculation – "Hmm, is this going to be worth that 10-25¢?" Even though they allow you to get an instantanous refund if the article didn't bring you value, you're still thinking about your media consumption from a much more cold and calculated angle. I'm not saying a model like Spotify or Netflix is better for the media industry, but it's a model people prefer for a reason. You set up that recurring payment once, and just go forth and enjoy content.

pseingatl 7y ago
Micropayments would work if you charge mills, and not cents. You wouldn't even bother worrying about spending, say, 10 mills. But given the Internet's numbers, these add up, and quickly.
- thaumasiotes 7y ago
  > Micropayments would work if you charge mills, and not cents. You wouldn't even bother worrying about spending, say, 10 mills. Your example is incoherent. 10 mills is a payment in cents. The only reason to call it "10 mills" is that you're hoping people won't understand what you mean.
  - theelous3 7y ago
    It's not "incoherent" to argue that the price should be less than one cent. Hmmming and hawing about 10-25c per article wouldn't happen at 0.1 cent per article, or some other subcent amount.
    - thaumasiotes 7y ago
      He's not arguing that the price should be less than one cent. 10 mills is one cent. He's arguing that "micropayments would work if you charged mills and not cents, and that's why you should charge a cent".
      - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
        People really hate the idea of pay-as-you-go for online information. It's not just about pricing, it's about monitoring. You would need a central or aggregated service so could see your costs in real time, otherwise people would be getting huge bills at the end of the month.
        thaumasiotes 7y ago
        I agree with you, but that isn't the problem I'm pointing out here.
      - theelous3 7y ago
        ...right but with the option for less. You could pay one one thousanth of a dollar.

pseingatl 7y ago

Micropayments would work if you charge mills, and not cents. You wouldn't even bother worrying about spending, say, 10 mills. But given the Internet's numbers, these add up, and quickly.

thaumasiotes 7y ago
> Micropayments would work if you charge mills, and not cents. You wouldn't even bother worrying about spending, say, 10 mills. Your example is incoherent. 10 mills is a payment in cents. The only reason to call it "10 mills" is that you're hoping people won't understand what you mean.
- theelous3 7y ago
  It's not "incoherent" to argue that the price should be less than one cent. Hmmming and hawing about 10-25c per article wouldn't happen at 0.1 cent per article, or some other subcent amount.
  - thaumasiotes 7y ago
    He's not arguing that the price should be less than one cent. 10 mills is one cent. He's arguing that "micropayments would work if you charged mills and not cents, and that's why you should charge a cent".
    - TheOtherHobbes 7y ago
      People really hate the idea of pay-as-you-go for online information. It's not just about pricing, it's about monitoring. You would need a central or aggregated service so could see your costs in real time, otherwise people would be getting huge bills at the end of the month.
      - thaumasiotes 7y ago
        I agree with you, but that isn't the problem I'm pointing out here.
    - theelous3 7y ago
      ...right but with the option for less. You could pay one one thousanth of a dollar.