OK, I’m new to blogging. I don’t expect to make any money…I mean, I would love to but I have realistic expectations. So when I ask my online friends about generating income, the first two things that pop up are Flattr and Google ads.
A little more about these two things (my understanding):
Flattr: social micropayment platform. When you like something, you ‘flattr’ them. Every month you have a set amount to give away and it is split between the people you have flattered.
Google Ads: “Offers a contextual advertising solution to web publishers. Delivers text-based ads that are relevant to site content pages.” When there is an interesting ad, you click through and people are paid through impressions and clicks.
I happen to belong to two networks, one who uses ads and the other who uses flattr.
So far, I prefer flattr. I love this system because I get to give directly to the creator of the content. With ads, I might click on an ad because it seems interesting, not because I like the page content – and then I give ‘click credits’ to that creator, not based on their work but based on related ads.
Similar to the folks at science3.0, I had a good August when it comes to flattr and I made more money than with my ads on other sites even though this genegeek blog has less page views.
I have shared my love of flattr with friends in various parts of the world. There seems to be two camps of people:
- Yeah! I can give kudos directly to creators. It’s OK that I have to spend a bit of money to play and I hope to break even.
- Why should I pay money to have other people show that they like me? People should pay me first and then I’ll have money to share with others.
So how do I get my friends who prefer ads to see that flattr could be a more lucrative system? As a scientist, I like to design experiments. I’m going to add some google ads to this blog – let me know if disapprove (no other blog has ads). Yes, my flattr did well in August but the buzz of flattr is wearing down among my friends so maybe it will slow down. It isn’t a perfect experiment but by putting the two systems on the same blog, it is a more fair comparison.
I will keep it up until the end of October and then let you know of any income from the two streams.
Side note: As a HUGE generalization, my friends in Canada and Europe have embraced flattr but friends in the US don’t like the idea of paying into the system first. I wonder if this reflects views on other aspects (like healthcare)? As a Canadian, I don’t mind paying for others to get well so that the opportunities will be there for me if I need them.
mark says
Goggle are rich enough. Bloggers are not so rich so I’m flattring you 🙂
mark says
Although iPhones seem to struggle with flattr it appears so I’ll have to flattr in the morning, maybe something for the discussion in your expt!
Helge Stenström says
You have ads on this page, you say? I don’t even see them, since I use Adblock Plus. But I’m happy to flattr you, mainly because Flattr is an idea I like much more than advertising. To support you through Flattr, is to support Flattr itself, and that’s a good thing, in my mind.
sarcozona says
I love the community component of Flattr, the fact that no one is selling anything, it doesn’t clutter up a page with unwanted contents, and it’s easy!
Plus, I’ve made more in a month with Flattr than I made with a year of google ads! If I’m lucky, my blog might start paying for itself.
I do think that the initial sign up and deposit is the biggest obstacle to getting people using Flattr and I’m not quite sure how to overcome that. Maybe a deal where you don’t have to donate your first month?
Mr. Gunn says
The other factor arguing in flattr’s favor is that there are many people who block ads (and it’s their right to decide how they want to view a page), but I don’t think anyone blocks flattr links, not would they have much incentive to unless the links somehow become a conduit for spam and porn and malware like ads.
Coturnix says
Interesting , your side-note on the bottom of perhaps may be explained by cultural differences in friendship? See this post on Neuroanthropology blog: http://bit.ly/dg4S17 where it states that giving money is an important aspect of friendship in many cultures, but is a big no-no in the USA.
Bernie Demman says
wow this would seem definitely cool! do you thoughts if i share this?
Disco Stu says
So, what results did your experiment produce in those couple months?
Catherine Anderson says
Flattr was the winner by a landslide! I got less than 40 cents US from ads but Flattr provided about 7 Euros that I then used to Flattr others.
However, Flattr seems to be less popular now so I’m not sure the difference would be as great if the experiment was done in 2011.