There’s a new way of earning money through creating high-quality internet content. I think it’s a winner.

Where it starts

So, one day I’m reading a top-class article online, and a rush of wild generosity bursts over me:

‘I wish there were an easy way to donate, say 20p, for an online article enjoyed, much as you would click a Facebook Like button.‘

I tweet this – obviously – and get immediate replies about two options: Tip The Web and Flattr. I look at both, quickly discount Flattr, and focus on Tip The Web. That’s where it starts.

At the time Tip The Web was still in development, so I had to wait. Now, though, it’s in Beta. It’s looking good, and I want everyone to see its brilliance – and its significance.

The current situation – not so good

To understand its importance not only as a new business model but – potentially – a new internet culture, we need to remember what we want from the internet. Me, I want an internet full of well-developed, well-presented content, and I’m guessing that most people would like the same. There may be those who just want a whole bunch of suckers sitting clicking, buying their worthless goods, but this isn’t for them. I’m talking to those who value quality.

What do we have at the moment? Some bright spots of wonderful articles and videos, for sure – but also a wasteland of sites plastered with adverts, locked subscription sites and, dotted here and there, sweetly-hopeful Donate buttons.

Maybe the adverts work for the site owner. Maybe the subscriptions do. I’m pretty sure the Donate buttons don’t.  Regardless, I have big issues with them all in terms of internet quality for the visitor.

1. Adverts: nothing wrong with them per se, but when it’s a struggle to find the content – or they haven’t even bothered with words beyond google-bait – then the goal has slipped from informing to pimping. It’s just ugly.
2. Subscription: we’re paying for everything, when we may only want a few things – and we’re paying regardless of the quality of the product. I abandoned my expensive FT subscription when the vague writing, coupled with how few articles I needed, meant it just wasn’t worth the money.
3. Pay-to-view: first cousin to the subscription model, this requires you to pay for an article based on a few short preview sentences. I don’t mind paying for things – I just don’t like playing Pin The Tail On The Donkey.  I’ve wasted a lot of money that way.
4. Donate: this is a nice idea for services, but something of a mallet for content.  How many people will like an article so much that they’ll ignore all other distractions and go through the Paypal rigmarole? Would you really pay £5 for the pleasure of reading it? Would you really use Paypal for 20p or 20¢?

In summary, none of these encourage high quality content, and some actively militate against it. We need a different approach – one which specifically rewards quality, relevance and timeliness. So, just in time, here is Tip The Web.

What Tip The Web brings to the game

What Tip The Web brings is a new way to reward good content on the internet. It will work because it is instant, it is cheap and it is specific -  and so it plays out the visitor’s generous impulse with no interruption and no dilution.

It couldn’t really be more simple: having seen something you like , you click the TIP button, select an amount – 5¢ to $2 or more – and click.  Three clicks, three seconds, all without leaving the current page.

If you’re thinking that with an ‘Everything For Free’ mentality, no-one will tip, I think that isn’t true.  People may not want to pay out large amounts of money, especially for something unseen and untested, but this act of tipping provides a small glow of virtue and the sense that your money is going to exactly the right place.  The amounts are small, but could add up to something significant when your writing improves and attracts a wider readership. You can see the articles I have tipped lately in the footer of this site.

What does this mean for the internet?

It means that in order to attract tips, and with this instant feedback of how people value a particular piece of creativity, the creator’s mind will be bent towards the reader and how the reader thinks, rather than himself and his own thought-processes. The intention shifts from self-expression to communication. There’s a thought.

(From my experience in this article alone I can tell you that this mind-bending has almost induced cramp… It is fantastically – and unexpectedly – educational! )

Where does it go from here?

Eric Ferraiuolo tells me that their version 2 will be a lot more social, with clever ways of looking at the information. You can already see the tips I’ve recently made (in the footer), and in the next version I’ll be displaying all the things of mine that are being tipped, from tweets to photos.

But even now my mind is crunching all the ways it could be used:

That’s just a start – I’d love to hear about more ways it could be used. As I said, I’m quite excited about this new model… Sign up today, tip something, and start telling people it’s here!

Links

Tip The Web – Site
Tip The Web – Twitter
Eric Ferraiuolo (TTW developer) – Twitter
Dave Fogel (TTW developer) – Twitter