The idea behind microcent transactions is users would pay something like $0.0001 to view different items on the Web. Online services that provide web pages, news articles, stock prices, horoscopes, and so forth could charge this small amount for online items. This would allow users to view content without needing to set up an account with a service provider and potentially pay for services the user may not use. It allows content providers to receive income when a user accesses their pages, without the overhead of administering user accounts.
For example, the Monday, Oct. 21, 1996 issue of USA Today had roughly 126 articles, and cost $0.50 from a newsstand. This approximates to $0.004 per article. If the user only wants to read a few articles, then purchasing the entire paper may be too costly. If the newspaper company gives their newspaper away on the Internet, then they give up a source of income. Microcent transactions represent a middle ground between paying for access and giving content away.
Copyright © 1996 Patrick N. Brooks
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