kathleen forden

Google developing a micropayment platform and pitching newspapers: “‘Open’ need not mean free”

By Zachary M. Seward /  today  /  5:20 p.m.  

September 9, 2009, 5:20 pm –>

Google is developing a micropayment platform that will be “available to both Google and non-Google properties within the next year,” according to a document the company submitted to the Newspaper Association of America. The system, an extension of Google Checkout, would be a new and unexpected option for the news industry as it considers how to charge for content online.

The revelation comes in an eight-page response to the NAA’s request for paid-content proposals, which it extended to several major technology companies and startups. It’s surprising, given the newspaper industry’s tenuous relationship with Google, that the company was involved at all.

In the document, which you can download here, Google outlines its “vision of a premium content ecosystem” that includes subscriptions across multiple news sites, syndication on third-party sites, accessibility to search, and various payment options, including small fees for access to individual pieces of content (known as micropayments). The company says:

Would you have issue paying a monthly fee to access multiple avenues of content that you enjoyed consuming?