Anyone paying attention knows that cryptocurrencies are the first real, best hope for microtransactions to finally take off. The tipping system is growing in both scope and volume and is finally doing what giant corporations with millions in fiat couldn't: Make microtransactions viable.
Bitcoin Megaphone is sort of like the increasingly popular anonymous message posting apps like Secret, only with a Bitcoin powered ecosystem/advertising platform of microtransactions payments and rewards.
Posters pay by the character to the tune of .00001 bitcoin. (roughly USD $0.006). Most posters pay around USD $0.50 or less, but there is no limit and a few have posted short essays for around USD $15.00.
The hook is that each message also comes with a Bitcoin address for tips. Viewers can donate to the poster and theoretically the poster can make a return on his or her small investment.
Bitcoin Megaphone Creator, Mike Solomon, commented:
“The website is like a huge billboard where you can scrawl anything you want, completely anonymously and without consequence. And the only thing people can do about it is give you money. We’ve never seen a dynamic like this anywhere.”
So far, the vast majority of messages have not received enough donations to offset the cost of posting, but a few have made a small profit. Solomon believes that:
“Publishers should take note. The people using Bitcoin Megaphone are the precious few Bitcoin early adopters who could help fuel a viable revenue stream for online properties in the future. The themes and patterns of posting and tipping we’re seeing here are the proof-of-concept that micro payments in publishing can actually work.”
It is still in the early days however and while the Bitcoin Megaphone mix of social media and bitcoin powered advertising platform might not be the most ideal, it is an interesting experiment that couldn't be done before the invention of Bitcoin's low cost transactions.