The microdonations service Flattr and the Internet ad blocker Adblock Plus are teaming to create a new tool called Flattr Plus which aims to get users to pay for the content they view the most.
It’s an attempt to solve, or literally throw money at, the longstanding issue of how to pay web publishers and content creators without relying on advertising and paywalls.
Flattr Plus says on its site that “for the first time since the invention of the Internet, you can let your browser pay for the content you love.” The add-on pays attention to sites and content users engage with and distributes funds from a monthly budget determined by the user.
There’s no need to hit any buttons on articles you like or enter payment details for each site you visit — a “smart algorithm” automatically distributes the right amount to the right sites.
Publishers have to sign up with the site in order to get paid, but Ben Williams of Adblock Plus told TechCrunch that if they don’t sign up, money owed to them will be held until they do.
Flattr was started by Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay file-sharing site, and Linus Olsson in 2010 as a method of helping people fund content they loved. It has been previously celebrated for being a way to send money to WikiLeaks after it was cut off by PayPal, MasterCard and Visa.
“The idea of great content has gotten lost in clickbait headlines and slideshow articles,” Olsson said in a statement reported on by VentureBeat. “All with the goal of generating advertising revenues. If we want to reverse that trend, we need a funding model that is based on engagement and attention rather than mere visits. I am convinced that people’s growing willingness to support great content is the next big change for the web. And it will happen if we provide them with a simple, easy-to-use solution that allows them to fund the art, music, and journalism they love. So that’s what we are building.”
The two companies reportedly hope to reach 10 million users each paying about $5 a month by 2017, at which point they say they would be able to pay out around $500 million to publishers. Flattr and Adblock Plus will take a cut of around 10 percent.
