If you're holding on to a phone, either with your hand on cramming it between your shoulder and your head, wouldn't that count as a THIRD thing to focus on?
However, I agree that all the technology in the world will not save people from their own stupidity.
The reason why it failed for him was because he put the weight of the model on the individual people's honesty. Over the Internet. The anonymous Internet.
If he had simply just charged a flat rate for everyone, not this "download for free but please pay" crap, it would have worked much better. If he wanted, he could have always provided a free chapter or two. A blind man could have seen the fate of that of little fiasco coming a mile away.
I hope that micropayments catch on. Right now, you need to jump through hoops to get it going, but if the cost to the webmaster is low enough, and it becomes common enough that people use it frequently, this could be a viable business model.
It will be absolutely wonderful for people who want to see a small amount of quality content, without having to buy the whole sack of kittens. Also, I think folks will find it invaluable as a "try before you buy" sort of thing. I don't like subscriptions, I don't want to buy your t-shirts, but micropayments have really caught my attention.
I have a strong feeling they will. The things that make Blizzard great will allow them to be continually successful.
Their attention to detail, knack of knowing what their audience wants, plus the fact that they more or less require their programmers actually be gamers (who would have thought?) will let them keep on trekkin'. The loss of such high-profile employees is a real blow, but I expect WoW and SC2 to follow suit and exceed our wildest expectations.
I wish all of them well! Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to see them twiddling their fingers in the gaming industry again.
Slashdot Mirror
If you're holding on to a phone, either with your hand on cramming it between your shoulder and your head, wouldn't that count as a THIRD thing to focus on?
However, I agree that all the technology in the world will not save people from their own stupidity.
The reason why it failed for him was because he put the weight of the model on the individual people's honesty. Over the Internet. The anonymous Internet.
If he had simply just charged a flat rate for everyone, not this "download for free but please pay" crap, it would have worked much better. If he wanted, he could have always provided a free chapter or two. A blind man could have seen the fate of that of little fiasco coming a mile away.
I hope that micropayments catch on. Right now, you need to jump through hoops to get it going, but if the cost to the webmaster is low enough, and it becomes common enough that people use it frequently, this could be a viable business model.
It will be absolutely wonderful for people who want to see a small amount of quality content, without having to buy the whole sack of kittens. Also, I think folks will find it invaluable as a "try before you buy" sort of thing. I don't like subscriptions, I don't want to buy your t-shirts, but micropayments have really caught my attention.
Blizzard Company Profile
Check near the bottom for the part about Blizzard North.
I have a strong feeling they will. The things that make Blizzard great will allow them to be continually successful. Their attention to detail, knack of knowing what their audience wants, plus the fact that they more or less require their programmers actually be gamers (who would have thought?) will let them keep on trekkin'. The loss of such high-profile employees is a real blow, but I expect WoW and SC2 to follow suit and exceed our wildest expectations. I wish all of them well! Perhaps we'll be lucky enough to see them twiddling their fingers in the gaming industry again.