Google recently shared its motivation for introducing a new web monetization model, stating, “Web monetization offers a new revenue model for content creators and website owners, allowing them to earn from their work while users consume their content. It also facilitates voluntary user contributions, such as tips, directly rewarding the creators for the value their content provides.”
Google explained that “Web Monetization” is a web technology that allows website owners to receive micropayments from users interacting with their content. Users can pay small amounts of money without any interaction, giving them full control over how much they pay and when, on a per-site basis. For this to work, users need an enabled wallet. If a user has set up their wallet for a particular website, their browser will automatically start a web monetization session, enabling direct payments from the user to the website.
Google highlighted two unique features of Web Monetization: small payments and no user interaction. Users can tip or pay for content seamlessly while they consume it. This is facilitated by extending the HTML element with rel=”monetization.”
However, there is no official information on when this payment option will roll out to all Chrome users. The technology is still a work in progress, and the Web Platform Incubator Community Group needs to make it a W3C Standard before it can be widely adopted.
In summary, Google’s new web monetization model aims to create a new revenue stream for content creators and website owners by allowing users to make small, voluntary payments or tips directly. This model offers convenience by requiring no user interaction, but it will take some time before it becomes available to all users.
