Google has unveiled a project that offers web users the option to pay to visit sites rather than see adverts.<\/p>\n
Dubbed Contributor, users can pay a monthly fee of between $1 to $3 for ad-free sites.<\/p>\n
When those who have paid their subscriptions visit a participating site they will see pixelated patterns replacing the adverts.<\/p>\n
It has so far signed up a handful of websites, including ScienceDaily and Urban Dictionary, to test the system.<\/p>\n
Others in the current trial include WikiHow, Mashable and Imgur.<\/p>\n
Access to the service is currently by invitation only and interested websites can sign up to be on the waiting list.<\/p>\n
Contributor describes itself as “an experiment in additional ways to fund the web”.<\/p>\n
“Today’s internet is mostly funded by advertising. But what if there were a way to directly support the people who create the sites you visit each day?” it asks.<\/p>\n
A portion of the money goes to Google and a portion to the website.<\/p>\n
Users log into the service via their Google account – which will trigger the ad-free version of sites.<\/p>\n
Howard Kingston, co-founder of adludio, a firm which replaces ads with interactive games, thinks current online advertising needs a rebrand.<\/p>\n
“Advertising, especially online has become a bugbear for many people, but there are new models such as this one, that could change the publisher landscape and how people browse content online,” he said.<\/p>\n
Some websites are already experimenting with paywalls, including the Wall Street Journal and The Times but those sites still show advertising.<\/p>\n
A service called Readability tried something similar to Contributor but shut down in 2012.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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