So many thoughtful replies, thank you all! After reading them, it sounds like we currently lack a way of paying into an internet commons where funds get distributed to the sites we visit most. Something like a water utility, where its very existence is priceless, but we don't have to think about it each time we turn on the tap, because the unit price of rinsing dishes is almost too cheap to meter. Cryptocurrency has potential to power something like that, but concerns around privacy and having too much money pulled from bank accounts have not been entirely addressed yet.
To flip this on its head, some suggested that we're only looking at internet ads from the supply side. Looking at the demand side might show that people want to actively pay to support websites they enjoy. Especially if that suppresses ads where it's implemented. But there's currently no mainstream way to donate perhaps $5-30 per month to provide a kind of internet universal basic income with zero fees.
Off the top of my head, one of the most popular recipients might be something like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to lobby against dystopian legislation from the RIAA/MPAA, for example. The first legislation to target might be to ban bans and enforce transparency, so that all customers have a guaranteed right to dispute any ban and be restored within say 2 weeks, or be refunded any proceeds from before their account was suspended. Which might get ad companies to do their jobs and stop fraud internally, as well as cultivate competitors who advertize a lower ban rate.
Some good starting points:
Patreon
ACH
FedNow
Faster Payments
SEPA
NPP
Cash App
Google Contributor
Brave Rewards
Zcash's shielded pool
Flattr
Kindle Unlimited
Youtube Premium
Venmo
PayPal
So many thoughtful replies, thank you all! After reading them, it sounds like we currently lack a way of paying into an internet commons where funds get distributed to the sites we visit most. Something like a water utility, where its very existence is priceless, but we don't have to think about it each time we turn on the tap, because the unit price of rinsing dishes is almost too cheap to meter. Cryptocurrency has potential to power something like that, but concerns around privacy and having too much money pulled from bank accounts have not been entirely addressed yet.
To flip this on its head, some suggested that we're only looking at internet ads from the supply side. Looking at the demand side might show that people want to actively pay to support websites they enjoy. Especially if that suppresses ads where it's implemented. But there's currently no mainstream way to donate perhaps $5-30 per month to provide a kind of internet universal basic income with zero fees.
Off the top of my head, one of the most popular recipients might be something like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to lobby against dystopian legislation from the RIAA/MPAA, for example. The first legislation to target might be to ban bans and enforce transparency, so that all customers have a guaranteed right to dispute any ban and be restored within say 2 weeks, or be refunded any proceeds from before their account was suspended. Which might get ad companies to do their jobs and stop fraud internally, as well as cultivate competitors who advertize a lower ban rate.
Some good starting points: