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Google getting into micropayments

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Jammo the OrganizedFellow:
And why would I want to give Google 30%!
-app103 (September 14, 2009, 04:35 PM)
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All good points app.

I'm most against the fact that:
A. there is no simple transfer of PayPal funds. I've used PayPal for many many years! Using another method of paying is silly. The only thing I use Google Checkout for is when purchasing apps on my G1 (the Google phone, yall!).
B. Why pay to read content! It's as lame as the idea I once heard about the Government wanting to charge for sending emails!

Lashiec:
B. Why pay to read content! It's as lame as the idea I once heard about the Government wanting to charge for sending emails!
-jammo (September 14, 2009, 11:06 PM)
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Huh? As if paying to read something was a brand-new idea, even on the Internet.

According to the blog post linked above, and to another article I read yesterday in the newspaper, this is just another cog in Big Content grand plans for getting away from the "free for all" model that rules the Internet nowadays. The general idea is to charge users a fee that allows access to premium features and/or content, although certain jerk company wants to impose a fee for pretty much everything you want to do in their webpages (yup, News Corporation). Which, as long as the premium perks are worth the price, is a fine idea.

As I see it, Google's idea is one of the faulty cogs. As app says, if the scheme gets adopted, you'll end up paying to read anything in any given site, which is downright stupid, so the idea is doomed from the start. Users won't buy that, and they'll end up looking for information elsewhere.

That said, it could be that Google intended its new micropayment system to be used as an alternative to subscriptions, which would make a lot of sense. Keep daily news free (after all, most of the times a headline and a summary is more than enough), but make opinion pieces, interviews or articles available either by purchasing a monthly or yearly subscription, or by charging a small fee for casual readers to access it during a given period of time.

Jammo the OrganizedFellow:
That said, it could be that Google intended its new micropayment system to be used as an alternative to subscriptions, which would make a lot of sense. Keep daily news free (after all, most of the times a headline and a summary is more than enough), but make opinion pieces, interviews or articles available either by purchasing a monthly or yearly subscription, or by charging a small fee for casual readers to access it during a given period of time.
-Lashiec (September 15, 2009, 09:07 AM)
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YES YES, I agree with you there. Now, THAT would be something beneficial to us. Well, to me, at least.

I wouldn't mind paying a nominal fee to read worthy information.
The subscription idea would probably take off just fine. They'd of course get some controversial press, but it would be a nice welcome 'evolution' to the Internet.

johnmillergo:
Well the competitors around paypal I suspect google checkout will take more time. But Google is Ruling the world.Can easily become No.1 soon. :Thmbsup:

app103:
A few more articles about this:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/google-plans-tools-to-help-news-media-charge-for-content/?ref=technology

http://www.seobook.com/micropayments-could-google-make-it-happen

It seems this isn't intended for the little guys but in fact for big news outlets, like the New York Times, and such. This system is to help them make their content inaccessible unless you pay to read it, much like how you can't read the print editions unless you pay.

Even though the print editions are loaded with advertising, it has always been part of their business model to charge readers in addition to charging advertisers. Online that hasn't worked before but this proposal is supposed to be Google's idea on how to change that, since purchase of printed news has declined so much that it threatens the existence of these news companies.

It's not for use by Joe the Blogger to put a little extra cash in his pocket, or for the likes of the small developer trying to earn at least enough to keep his website online.

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