In April 2010, I wrote about Flattr, a way to reward creators of articles, photos and videos. You set aside an amount for the month and clicked a button beside work you valued. At the end of the month, your budget was divided among those choices. Each contribution was small, but it made appreciation concrete.
A different way to pay
Flattr addressed a problem that remains familiar: people read and watch much of the web for free, while creating it takes time. The service did not ask readers to complete a payment for every article. By choosing a budget in advance, they could show appreciation without deciding on a price each time.
The other side of that model is that each creator’s income depends on participation and on how many times one reader clicks. Divide a small budget among many creators and each receives little. My calculation in 2010 explained that distribution; it was not a promise that creators could make a living from it.
Flattr is history
Flattr itself says that its microdonation platform has closed. The old amounts, buttons and signup instructions are historical information. Anyone wishing to support a creator now should look at the payment or membership options offered by that creator. A direct donation, purchase or subscription has a different rhythm from Flattr’s shared monthly budget.
Flattr is gone as a service, but the experiment remains interesting. It asked a practical question: how can appreciation for digital work become easy enough that people actually pay for it?