Hi everyone. I'm Len, one of the CoFounders of CentUp. More about me here: LenKendall.com - I'm really passionate about exploring new publisher models and spent 7 years in advertising/pr before starting my company.
Hey, @LenKendall! I've enjoyed watching CentUp over the past ~year. I write often and am very interested in the publishing space.
IMHO, the hardest part about CentUp and other micro-transaction platforms designed for "free" content, is changing user behavior. There's so much content out there and getting people (especially a large audience) to pay for something they're not used to, is challenging.
What have you seen work and more generally, what are your thoughts about this topic?
@rrhoover Great point. CentUp isn't focusing on being a way for people to "pay" for content, but rather being an inconsequential way for people to acknowledge great writing, music, etc. There's a reason paywalls don't work, and you outlined exactly why above.
Asking someone to pitch in 2-3 cents for something they would have otherwise just clicked, "like" on isn't as tough of a battle. Although that small amount may not seem significant, when certain pieces get a lot of shares, it ads up.
We also built social impact into the model so that every donation gets split in half between content creator and a charity. If you look at TOMS Shoes, they're a great example of how a commodity product can outgrow its competition by making a positive impact part of the business model.
You're 100% right about this behavior change being a huge challenge, but every time another newspaper closes down, or "sponsored content" creeps into editorial content, we're getting closer to a point where sustainable content compensation will work. 5 years ago CentUp would have a very tough time gaining traction, but we believe we're at a turning point where "permeable paywalls" are really attractive. More on that here: http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/01...
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