The Internet is a bit of a mess. It used to be a digital bazaar full of diverse content and fresh ideas, but it’s become a stifling landscape dominated by restrictive, closed markets. Digital content creators face a number of hurdles that make it more difficult to monetise and engage their audiences’.

Payment barriers

With no real way of accepting web payments for small one-time purchases, many creators find themselves stuck behind aggravating paywalls or having to rely either on subscriptions or cumbersome ad-based revenue for their income.  Independent video creators have to stick to YouTube’s AdSense policies to avoid demonetisation, or rely on super chat donations. Most are unfortunately left with no viable alternatives.

And that’s not just true for publishing. It’s true for any industry where content creators who can’t directly monetise their work.  Coders, game developers, and musicians are forced to rely on closed markets like the App Store or Google Play for revenue. Without the ability to interact directly with customers, those artists are particularly exposed to online exploitation.

Bigger publishers and corporate media may survive, but there needs to be a solution that lets content creators, independent writers, bloggers, and the like to easily accept donations, allowing them to continue to produce content that their audience finds valuable.

The current system is a pain for consumers, too. It’s a struggle just to access the material they want, and the more time, effort, and personal information it takes, the less likely a person is to engage with content. Instead of being able to pay a few cents for content, they end up wasting time on content they don’t want, and cancelling subscriptions before trial periods expire.

The existing model of online content consumption has turned us into unwitting online pirates without the right tools to pay for what we want. As long as the internet has to accommodate legacy finance, content creators will suffer financially.

Breaking down those barriers

Bottlepay’s social payments system, which integrates seamlessly with social media services and allows creatives to engage directly with their customers, is exactly that. By removing barriers to payment, Bottlepay allows consumers to seamlessly pay the people who make their favourite stuff.

We need to start using a digital currency ideally suited to paying for content online, and the proper instruments to make it work. Bottlepay believes Bitcoin is that currency, and is creating the infrastructure necessary to put it at the centre of a new payments system.

With Bottlepay, content creators can monetise their social media. Alongside likes, replies and retweets from their following, they can now receive donations too. Through a simple integration, consumers can support their favourite content by instructing Bottlepay to transfer any amount instantly. Alternatively, they can transfer within the Bottlepay app using the creator’s Twitter handle.

And it’s not just possible with bitcoin. While Tipjar is readily available on Twitter with partners such as PayPal, you can now #tipwithatweet using sterling via Bottlepay. The difference - unlike TipJar and Paypal who keep a percentage of the tip, if a fan tips a creator £5 through Bottlepay, the creator will receive the whole £5 - no fee taken.

Through Bottlepay, plenty of social payments are happening everyday on Twitter, be it sterling or bitcoin, with many other platforms in the pipeline. If you’re interested, you should follow Bottlepay on Twitter and Instagram. Considering the progress that has been made so far, and the tools already available, growth is sure to be exponential.