Supporting The People And Content You Love
The internet has enabled millions of creative people to put their work in front of a wider audience than ever before. From sharing pictures on Flickr to distributing videos on YouTube, or apps on the App Store, content creators from across the globe can instantly share their creations with the world. This is incredible.
I have personally shared content in many ways, and so have you. Whether you’re an artist, musician, writer, photographer, gamer, comedian, dancer, (the list goes on), I guarantee you have shared content in some form.
One great thing about sharing content is that you’re able to get instant feedback. Instant is huge in our generation, from the instant gratification of The On-Demand Economy (Uber, Instacart, Postmates, etc.) to our expectations of quick and easy access to just about everything. Online, instant feedback comes in the form of a “like” or “favorite,” or even sometimes a “share” or “retweet”. These actions are great, not only for our egos, but to give us direction. To tell us that people appreciate and enjoy the content we’re sharing, and presumably, that they want to see more of it.
But there are some interesting things happening beyond likes and faves.
I have been following the crowdfunding space since the summer of 2013 when I created my own Kickstarter project. As a photographer, I had a variety of opportunities that I wanted to take advantage of, but did not have the capital necessary to do so. Kickstarter enabled me to pursue my goals and grow as a creator, while enabling my backers (fans of my content) to support me and get various rewards (such as discounted prints of my photos).
Crowdfunding is an amazing tool that has enabled thousands of creatives to follow their dreams while producing more and more of the content that we love. Out of this concept of funding projects we love, some interesting derivatives have arisen that allow us to support and fund the content creators we love in new and innovative ways:
Patreon “enables fans and sponsors to give ongoing support to artists and creators.” If you want to see Walk Off The Earth make more awesome YouTube videos, you can pledge $1 per video for access to an exclusive section with behind the scenes photos and videos of the group. This is a very simple way for fans to support this group, and for them to continue producing top notch content. Currently, there are 1036 people pledging a total of $12,706 per new music video that Walk Off The Earth produces.
Beacon Reader “allows readers a way to support and get access to high quality journalism.” When you enter Beacon, you see a variety of journalists/authors and the projects that they are working on. You can then buy a subscription, typically for $5 per month. This subscription not only gives you access to all of that writer’s content, but the stories from ALL of the writers on the platform. Mariah Stewart uses Beacon to report on continued protests in Ferguson, Missouri, beyond the bullshit we get from mass media. Mariah has 381 supporters pledging $38,950 + $375/mo in subscriptions.
ChangeTip. ChangeTip is what prompted me to write this post. ChangeTip allows you to “send tips to reward the best content and your favorite people across the web.” You can send people money on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube simply by mentioning their name, an amount, and @ChangeTip.
These “micropayments” are very interesting, most notably due to the “micro” part. You can tip as little as a fraction of a cent with no transaction fees, opening up a huge variety of use cases. They even have a set value for “coffee” and the beer emoji!! Watch this short video for further explanation/context:
Micro[_______]
This “micro” space has been intriguing to me lately. “Microfinance” allows you to loan small amounts of money to individuals in developing countries who lack access to credit (through Kiva, Zidisha, etc.), while “Microinvestments” allow you to invest as little as $0.01 in diversified portfolios of index funds by rounding up the change from your credit card purchases (Acorns).
Now, “Social Micropayments” allow us to instantly tip content creators for specific pieces of content that they create, taking the “like” button to an entirely new level. Not to mention, it all uses Bitcoin, an innovative, virtual payment system which I am still trying to fully wrap my head around.
From the little that I do know, Bitcoin is the future. Don’t understand Bitcoin? This will help: Here’s An Explanation Even A Five-Year-Old Will Understand.
Here are a few quick applications I thought of when I discovered ChangeTip:
- Tip $0.25 to skip the absurdly long video commercials while watching The Colbert Report online
- Tip $x.xx along with a birthday post on Facebook. Hundreds of people wish each other happy birthday on Facebook. Getting as little as $0.50 tips from friends and family could quickly build up to $50+ to cover a fancy birthday dinner. Sign me up!
- Tip $0.50 for a very funny, informative, interesting, etc. tweet. I always wished I could support @jonnysun beyond favs/retweets. Now I can!
- Tip $0.05 along with your “GOOD!” “WOW!” “WHERE’S THE DROP?!?!” comments on Soundcloud
- Tip $5.00 to donate to a charity, or contribute to a friend’s Relay For Life team
The list goes on and on.
Apart from the concept itself, ChangeTip is helping to spread mainstream adoption of Bitcoin. Receive a tip: join ChangeTip + Open Bitcoin wallet to accept.
There are a lot of technicalities that will have to be figured out for these types of social behaviors to catch on, but I can see a lot of great things coming from micropayments. They look ugly and spammy now, but as people get curious and become informed, they will spread.
Be curious, if you enjoyed this content, try ChangeTip and give me a tip by clicking below — Or, better yet, tweet me @imcalebt an application you see for social micropayments, and I’ll tip you☺
Thanks to @AdmiralLeviathn, the twitter user I randomly found giving out ChangeTips, prompting me to look into it, be inspired, and write this post. To thank him, I tipped him $0.25!!
