February 19, 2009
Kachingle is a new service that looks like it could bridge the gap between scattered micropayments and free content. Many old media pundits have been suggesting micropayments as a solution to monetizing dying newspapers and other online content, but historically, micropayments don’t do as well as they should. It’s a hassle to pay every time you want to read an article, and you can often find the same content for free elsewhere.
Kachingle acts as a distributor of microdonations. Member sites would sign up and place a Kachingle badge on their page. Readers pledge to send a monthly payment to Kachingle - $5.00, $10.00, $100.00 or whatever they want. Then, Kachingle distributes that money proportionately amongst the partner sites you’ve visited over the month. So, if you visited PSFK 50 times, and The New York Times 50 times, your pledge would be split evenly, and so on.
It’s a smart concept that simplifies the act of micropayment, or micropatronage. With one payment and a once monthly transaction, you can support your favorite sites. Though critics don’t think Kachingle will make a ton of money for its member sites, it could - combined with advertising - make for a healthy revenue stream.
[Editor and Publisher & Steve Outing via Klintron]
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