Flattr

Flattr is a social payment service based in Malmö, Sweden, in which the user performs a credit account through deposits and releases of this month a freely selectable subscription amount as donations to media providers. The media suppliers to place on its website a Flattr button that the user can click on if they like the Internet content. At the end of the month the subscription amount the user will be distributed to the media provider in accordance with its clicks.

The name Flattr is composed of the term flat rate ( privileges) and the English verb to flatter ( someone flatter ).

Functions

Flattr

Registered users can deposit their own choice amounts to be performed as a credit to the service. Furthermore, the user decides the amount he wants to spend each month for Internet content (currently at least 2 euros ). Then the Flattr users can on any website with the Flattr " donation button " (see right) to decide whether he is ready for this content to pay. At the end of the month the number of clicks is added together and spread the monthly sum of the user equally among all clicked content.

If " fluttering " only a single post within a month, the entire paid amount will be credited to the clicked post. The number of clicks specification in the Flattr button is therefore no information about how many euros the corresponding contribution or the author of the article receives. If " fluttering " no contribution within a month, the money will be used for the next month. A Flattr users can repeatedly " flutter " the same contribution, but only once a month. There is also the possibility of media providers to subscribe: it acts as if it were clicked every month.

In the first year was the opportunity to receive money via Flattr, still coupled in mind that you have fluttered myself at least two euros per month. There was no money available for the output, the Flattr account has been disabled. Since 1st May 2011 Flattr took from this policy distance, that is, one can now also be " fluttering " without active " flutter " to himself. The money transactions, so the deposit and withdrawal from Flattr account are currently handled through PayPal, Bitcoin or Moneybookers.

Additional donations

Since January 2011, any Flattr user account had a so-called " Donate " button. With this it was possible to make available to the respective account holders a direct donation in the range of € 2 to € 50. To make a direct donation a fixed transaction fee of 0.20 EUR is charged. In March 2013 Flattr announced disable the function on 15 April 2013.

Offline Flattr

Using a smartphone and the corresponding application can be printed QR- character blocks are scanned. These contain links to the actual Flattr buttons with a description.

Connection with social networks

With the transformation of the Flattr buttons in July 2011, the feature was introduced to inform their own network contacts and subscribers of Facebook and Twitter, which pages were fluttering. After clicking on a Flattr button appear to symbols of the two Internet services.

Over time, other external services have been integrated. So it is now possible accounts of YouTube, Flickr, SoundCloud, github, Instagram or App.net to connect to a Flattr account. If something " flattred " at one of these services, the click is automatically assigned to the appropriate account. Partial allows Flattr, the automatic " flattr " content with these services.

Flattr demanded 2010 for the usage fees in the amount of 10%. These are, if appropriate fees charged by the payment service.

Flattr abolished in September 2012, the fees for the top-up by consumers. Since then, the 10% fee of producers will only be levied.

Credits can be from 10 € or pay more in deletion of the account any remaining balance will not be refunded.

Dissemination

Inventor of the social payment service Flattr is Peter Sunde, co-founder of the torrent tracker site The Pirate Bay. The company was founded in March 2010 in Sweden.

First Flattr was tested in a closed beta, the beta codes have been assigned based on a waiting list. In addition, could generate up to three beta codes each active user. Since 11 August 2010, new users can also register without beta code.

On October 12, 2010 Peter Sunde announced that he had retired from the board of Flattr, but continued working for the company.

Flattr spread in the starting phase, especially in the German-speaking countries. In 2010, the most geflattrte text contribution was the article " The terror is there, the cereal is all " by Ranga Yogeshwar. The highest revenue at the beginning of the introduction Flattr scored the daily newspaper ( taz): She took in June 2010 by 5,590 Flattr clicks together 988.50 € a. The daily newspaper has implemented Flattr 2010 in their online presence on 20 May, making it one of the few representatives of the traditional media, use the Flattr already in the beta phase. At this step, the newspaper decided by its own account and in order to support the service aware. By the end of 2010, the revenue of the taz rose by Flattr to 1,846 euros and 1,312 euros in November in December. Was particularly frequent flattred also the podcaster Tim Pritlove who earned flattr in 2012 up to 2500 euros a month.

In the course of 2012 Flattr closed from collaborations with several music services. So using SoundCloud since March 2012 Flattr donations to enable artists to. Also on Grooveshark Flattr was activated in November 2012. There is also an optional " Listen and flattr " function is automatically fluttered to all the artists whose music was played for more than half a minute. To assign the performer MusicBrainz IDs of the open music encyclopedia MusicBrainz be used. This could in principle incorporate in still more music services Flattr. Discussions with other well-known music offers run according to co-founder Linus Olsson already.

According to Olsson to September 2012, more than a million micro - payments were handled by the service. The average budget of the users lie at 4.50 euros a month. How many participants are there and how high is the turnover, however, was not disclosed.

Criticism

The fact that Flattr is a decentralized and by the addition of a network effect ( " live " from the Flattr wants ), it may be a monopoly. Comparable services like Concenture and TipJoy have failed.

Due to the principle knows Flattr all donations and clicks. For the receiver or a third party, however, is not visible in the default setting, who has donated for that matter, if the donor has not explicitly enabled this.

The fee is 10%. Online payment services such as PayPal require 2 to 4% plus a fixed amount (eg € 0.35), but fail due to here the fees for small payments proportionately larger.

Since there was no separation between content producers and content consumers in the initial phase, also content producers had to pay at least 2 € per month. This could have led to a redistribution of the smaller suppliers to larger and thus amplifies differences. Since 1 May 2011, these rules no longer apply.

Alternative

Besides Flattr Kachingle is one of the world's largest social -payment services for Internet media providers.