March 31, 1997
Look out, here comes pay-per-click
By Bob O'Donnell
If you use the Internet a lot, it is easy to loose track of the fact that the
information you are reading would cost you something if you were getting it in print.
People now expect Internet-based information to be free, and when some individuals come
across a service or document that isn't free, they make a stink about it.
But for those of us who create the content that entertains and informs everyone else,
there's a nagging thought in the back of our minds that we can't keep doing this forever.
Somewhere, somehow, somebody has to pay for all the work that's being done to create and
maintain this content.
Of course, the original plan was that banner advertising would subsidize the costs,
much like ads do in print publications. In reality, that's not anywhere close to
happening, so many companies are looking for creative ways to generate revenue from their
sites.
One obvious place is the content itself. Unfortunately, very few sites have
successfully created online paid subscriptions, in part because of the general
expectations by Web users that content should be free. But there are some intriguing
micropayment systems to be introduced this summer that are going to enable a new kind of
online commerce, one in which it could cost you nearly every time you click.
Sound scary? Well, it could be, if it's not implemented well or if the prices are too
high, but paying a tenth of a cent to read an article, or a penny to download a useful
Java applet, may soon become a very real part of our everyday 'net experience. The reality
is, many content sites are going to need that additional revenue to survive.
Here's the concept: Using one of the new micropayment systems, such as Digital's
impressive-sounding Millicent technology,
you would browse around to all your favorite sites, and for certain pages on certain
sites, you would be electronically charged for clicking a link to say, read an article, or
download a file. The "money" would be automatically subtracted from your digital
wallet, which, in the case of the Millicent technology, you would initially fill by
visiting an online broker who carried electronic money for that particular site.
There would be security and possibly anonymity associated with the microtransactions,
but it wouldn't be as sophisticated as the security for larger macropayment transactions
(of $10 or more).
I'm sure that privacy advocates and the more boisterous portions of the online
community will have a field day berating these types of schemes as leading to the end of
the Internet as we know it. And in many ways, they would be right, because
"pay-per-click" mechanisms will eventually end the days of the totally free
Internet.
However, there's no doubt that some type of mechanism needs to be put into place that
allows business to profitably operate their Web sites. Without it, the Internet boom could
quickly turn to a bust.
The Internet free ride has been a great one, just enjoy while it lasts.
©
Copyright 1997, by InfoWorld Publishing Corp., a
subsidiary of IDG Communications, Inc. Reprinted from InfoWorld,
155 Bovet Road, San Mateo, CA 94402. Further reproduction is prohibited.
