SiliconValley.Com Online retailers look at potential of micropayments
"Should Beenz be redeemable for Flooz? If so, how do such Beenz-Flooz units translate to Mojo bucks? While we're on the subject, will Compaq's MilliCents ever be convertible to IBM Micro Payments?

These are the questions vexing big thinkers of the e-shopping world."

O'Reilly Network The Case Against Micropayments
"Micropayment proponents have long suggested that micropayments will work because it would be great if they did. A functioning micropayment system would solve several thorny financial problems all at once. Unfortunately, the barriers to micropayments are not problems of technology and interface, but user approval. The advantage of micropayment systems to people receiving micropayments is clear, but the value to users whose money and time is involved isn't.

Because of transactional inefficiencies, user resistance, and the increasing flexibility of the existing financial framework, micropayments will never become a general class of network application. Anyone setting out to build systems that reward resource providers will have to create payment systems that provides users the kind of financial experience they demand - simple, predictable and easily valued. Only solutions that play by these rules will succeed."

I'Cringely I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday
"PayPal's use of plain old dollars and its ability to send money to anyone with an e-mail address set it apart from the earlier payment systems. To that point people had to get together and agree on what system they would use for payment, then both had to be registered for anything much to happen. PayPal took more of the Western Union approach -- that if you were told that some money was waiting for you down at the Western Union office, you'd find a way to hike down there and get it. For PayPal recipients, hiking down means registering as users. It's free. It's actually better than free since full registration scores you a five-dollar bonus, as well as another five-dollar bonus to whomever refers you or is the first to pay you using the system. And that's how PayPal actually began operations last October -- with 24 employees sending small gifts of money to their friends."

ZDNet Let's cough up the cash for Web content
"The Web is going through its own Great Depression as big sites continue to go belly-up. Meanwhile, revenue from banner ads drops because many of the banners are linked to...other dot-coms.These ominous signs do not foretell the death of the Web. But sooner or later the free lunch has to end. Information wants to be free, but information providers want to be paid."

"The Web is not one of those magical plants that can grow in midair. It needs cash to live."

The Big Panda Dime
"hi, this is bryan, the guy who runs big panda. i've started to ask for dimes on my home page."

"this is not a scheme to make crazy internet money. nobody's going to make a bazillion pennies. this is about readers and writers gaining control of the web.

this already exists in the real world: you can pay a dollar or two for a fanzine. on the internet, it can be much cheaper. it can even be a penny.

"how do you pay a penny on the internet? paypal is a popular way for sending tiny bits of money through email. ebay people use it a lot. there are other systems, but paypal is the most popular. i set up my paypal to accept dimes. i could have asked for pennies.

so i hope you now understand why i'm asking for dimes. i don't expect to make any serious money, but i do hope to educate people about the value of paying just a penny for the web sites you love."

The Big Panda Wow
"hi, this is bryan, the panda guy. i'm writing in astonishment at the response to my call for dimes. i've already received more dimes than i ever expected. maybe i was right. maybe people would rather pay a penny than see another ad for CASINO MONKEY CREDIT CARD INTERNET PERSONALS.

frankly, i'm not sure how to respond."