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Re:Here's another hint... by XorNand · 2005-04-04 05:41 · Score: 3, Interesting · on New Technique for Tracking Web Site Visitors

What do you expect from the company that "invented" those multimedia, pop-up elements that take over the entire browser window (aka "Shoshkeles)?

Plugins and Javashit: Just Say No by Tackhead · 2004-01-19 11:36 · Score: 0 · on Commercials Come To The Net (After This Word)

Some Shitweasel Fluffed in a Press Release:
> "The only format that loads completely before it is allowed to play, the Full Screen Superstitial is guaranteed to play perfectly for every consumer, every time."

...only so long as the user is using IE6.0 with all the security features disabled and all the auto-download and auto-execute flags turned to their lowest possible settings!

In other words, Mr. Shitweasel, "No they aren't".

Does anyone remember Shoshkeles?

Neither do I. Nor do Lynx, Netscape 3.x, 4.x, Mozilla, nor Thunderbird.

Banner Ad Armageddon by Dan+Crash · 2003-07-22 02:26 · Score: 1 · on Whatever Happened to Micropayments?

I remember this same sort of thinking when HotWired introduced the first banner ad. And yet, without banner ads, Slashdot probably wouldn't even exist. The question in my mind is: What great sites don't exist now, that could exist by using micropayments?

The net as a culture dealt with advertising, and we'll deal with micropayments, too. The sites that try to nickel-and-dime you to death will die the same death as the sites that spam you with endless pop-up windows, blinking banner ads, or shoshkeles. The equation is simple -- moneygrub your users too often and they'll flee in droves. Micropayment sellers will learn the lessons of the market, the same as anyone else.

Try it. You'll like it. by Dan+Crash · 2003-07-02 15:57 · Score: 5, Insightful · on Scott McCloud Tries Webcomic Micropayment

Some people treat the subject of micropayments like they're telling ghost stories around a campfire:

"I heard the Micropayment Monster's gonna start charging us for ev'ry page we look at on th' web!" "Well, I heard that this one guy surfed the web one night, an' the Monster sent him a credit card bill for a million dollars!" "Oh yeah, well, this kid's mom that I know, she totally freaked out cuz of micropayments everywhere, and threw her computer out the window and committed suicide!"

Settle down, kids. There's no monster. Micropayments are good, and the BitPass model really seems poised for success. It took me only a few seconds to sign up for it last night, and a couple clicks later I was reading Scott's comic -- the most enjoyable 25 cents I've spent in a long time.

First, the idea that every website is going to start charging people per page is asinine. The sites that try to nickel and dime you to death will end up in the same graveyard as the sites that try to advertise you to death. Don't you already mentally blacklist websites doused in crazy blinking Flash ads or shoshkeles? Most of us will just add the nickel-and-diming sites to the same pile. And advertising will always make more sense than micropayments for large, brand-oriented sites like CNN.com.

Second, the BitPass model isn't going to spring any sudden credit card surprises on anyone. It's essentially the prepaid phonecard model applied to online content. You buy a BitPass card for as little as $3, spend it in nickels, dimes and quarters on your favorite webcomic, band or online beggar, and you're done. Buy another card if you want, or don't. It's pretty simple.

Third, I've often heard people saying things like "I think an entire cent is too much" for online content and "it better be DAMN well WORTH it!"

Let's get some perspective. Name anything that provides more than 15 seconds worth of enjoyment for a dime. Give it a shot. Even a quarter. What can you buy for a quarter? Anything? You probably couldn't get a hobo to kick you in the nuts for a quarter. Whining about the epic, tragic loss of a dime? That's comical. Griping that even an entire cent is too much to support the artists you like? That's insulting.

Scott's comic is a good example of the value of micropayments. It's worth a quarter; it's not worth $7. There are all kinds of creators out there who are excited about micropayments because they know subscription or donation-based models don't work for them. There are worthwhile websites that aren't ad friendly that are creaking under the strain of overwhelming bandwidth bills. Micropayments enable them to survive and flourish.

Tycho's quote that "if you have enough readers who care about your work to go through all that rigamaroll, you could succeed with any business model" just isn't true. If you have 10,000 readers who are willing to spend 25 cents a month on you, then the only way you're going to get that money is through micropayments. Period. With micropayments, you're a creative indie superstar making a living; without them, you're just another schlub barely keeping his website afloat.

If BitPass succeeds -- and with the engine of webcomics behind them, I think they actually might -- it will change the web. Not in the drastic, market-mad campfire story ways, but in the amount of enjoyment and information we'll be able to squeeze out of the web. There will be more websites worth going to, more musicians being rewarded, more webcomics worth reading, more webloggers not just blogging but reporting.

I'd say that's worth a quarter.

Re:It could work ... by Hal-9001 · 2002-04-03 13:05 · Score: 1 · on Browser Becomes Billboard

You have to admit it beats the heck out of a car driving across your screen ...

The same guys that brought you shoshkeles (e.g. the car driving across the screen) are the ones bringing you this--now do you know how annoying this will be? :-p