Also, interesting that it is Google is doing this. It risks reducing their advertising revenue if it takes off too well - I wonder what their cut of revenue is like compared to their advertising business? This model pays them (and the content producer) per impression rather than per click.
twitch.tv (video game live streaming website) pays it's broadcasters with advertisements and user subscriptions (50/50 default split on subs)
many broadcasters earn more from their subscriptions (dedicated fans) than advertisements.
with increasing use of ad-blocking software, this seems like the right time for this sort of thing.
Google wants the power to tell sites that they have to use Google ads before they can get these Contributor donations. That's the whole point. So it will only hurt honorable sites like Wikipedia that forgo ads.
I can't locate any information on what cut they're taking from the Contributor product though.
This seems targeted at larger, semi-faceless websites which may only be able to survive with tiny contributions from a mass audience. Imgur is probably the best example of that; it's infrastructure that people appreciate, but few want to pay for.
Imgur has taken one round of VC, for $40 million, and most of that was made up of Andreessen Horowitz. Reddit did participate in that round, but they were a small minority share of it.
This seems more like a "like ads but better" thing. Google appears to be saying, "Until now, you paid the advertiser by buying their products, they paid us, and we paid the websites. Let's keep doing that, except without the advertiser." Which is obviously great for Google, though I'm not sure how much it benefits anyone else.
Manually donating to each site isn't realistic given human psychology; people simply won't do it. Something more automatic is better, even if it's not perfect. So I really like the idea.
Downsides for me:
- only works for sites with Google ads on them, not for other ad networks or for sites that want to be ad-free
- tracking presumably still happens; it would be nicer if there was some sort of protocol to automatically pay sites anonymously
Manually donating is indeed a problem, but if you want to send a subscription donation, you don't need Google Contributor. And anyway, you should donate to the sites that forgo ads in the first place — they are the ones that deserve it.
They are making $952 per episode, which is more than what annoying ads would pay.
In the context of HN, I do not think Patreon would be a good fit for programming. Mostly because programmers who have sufficient skill enough to receive a following probably make enough money in their day jobs such that the money earned in a Patreon would be a drop in the bucket. :P
Many websites have been funded through Kickstarter, though.
I'd go as far as saying Google are negligent (or malicious) for trying it. They might kill any startup doing the same thing, and then they will inevitably shut this down.
Examples:
Could they really not have transformed Google Reader into something valuable?
Did they really promote Google Wallet for Digital Goods sufficiently to expect any sort of success from it? (I used it and the UX and fees were the best around; promotion was non-existent)
Did Google Helpouts get enough of a push, either?
This new thing is great if Google are going to get behind it and stick with it until it's successful. Their current track-record suggests that they will not.