Hey all,
I had just started working on this way back when Wordpress.com announced that they were going to stop accepting Bitcoin. I was tempted to announce it then but it was way too early in its development so I held off. And it may still be too early to announce it now but I have put together not just one alternative to Wordpress.com but 14 of them. Each of these sites are WordPress.com clones that use the WordPress MultiUser feature to enable users to sign up and get their own blog in just a few minutes. But what should be most interesting to those interested in Bitcoin is that each Blog comes with a new system to earn Bitcoin from the web traffic the web content generates.
How this works:- Register at any one of the 14 Blog sites and get a personal blog (as a subdomain) at absolutely no cost
- The blog has a "web directory" page, like a Yellow Pages type directory that already has a few thousand web sites registered and in various categories
- To your casual visitor it is just an offer for them to visit the sites, no tracking, no popups - real tame
- In the top of the web directory there is an "Add A Link" link which, we hope, attracts the attention of any visitors with their own website
- The Web Directory is part of a cooperative network of sites so that any advertiser that decides to "ADD Their Link" is displayed in the rest of the network sites as well as yours
- They can advertise for free or they can bid competitively against others in their category for better position.
- You get 50% of whatever they choose to pay. This is a continuous commission paid in Bitcoin for as long as they remain a paying advertiser and you get credited daily.
- Not all websites are interested or need better paid positions but they may be interested in earning Bitcoin. If so, you can earn Bitcoin from their sales if they add the web directory to their own website (it comes as a WordPress plugin and a PHP script)
- If they don't have a website or one incompatible with our API they can get their own MU site just like yours at any of the 14 websites and earn you Bitcoin too.
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This may be a stretch of a business model for many reasons not least of which is that it is a Bitcoin ONLY system. Anyone/everyone that wants to move their website up the list will have to either earn Bitcoin by installing the API or by buying better placement with Bitcoin. But it also answers a common questions businesses have about what they can do with Bitcoin once they start to accept it. Rather than just cashing it out they can use it to advertise. At the same time, any business with a website can install the API and learn about Bitcoin a bit by earning some with their web traffic.
I am designing this around a cooperative business model which is quite different than what most people are used to. This startup obviously hasn't got the network effect yet but by using a cooperative model IF (and it is a BIG IF) it would be the early adopters and investors that become the owners and reap the reward of the success. How does the system insure the early adopters keep their earnings? A few things: 1) Everyone is credited their commissions daily so any interruption would be detected early. Members could then pull their API and shut off the value (i.e. the web traffic) backing the network at any breech 2) Members can also get their own payment gateway (currently using GoURL's) and IF they have enough earnings to cover the buyer's Bitcoin deposit they get the Bitcoin in exchange for their accumulated ad credits. 3) Members also can sell their ad credits using a "smart contract" system for direct deposits of cash to their own bank accounts. 4) They can redeem their earnings for Bitcoin directly from the coop ($25 worth minimum because all the BTC are in cold storage). The basic idea is make sure every Bitcoin ever deposited is backed 100% by advertising that all eventually gets distributed to web traffic contributors/investors. As the Bitcoin that is deposited gets paid to the web traffic contributors as commissions then they (the credits) are destroyed. This is designed with all the incentives to withdraw the Bitcoin earnings as soon as possible.
There is also a "DemoCoin" version that users can use to bid and track earnings as well and use without risk. It would be great if some in the forum would sign up and kick the tires on this. I've got the system crediting new registrants .1 DemoCoin (functioning like .1 BTC) which they can "buy" better position and "earn" as others "buy" from their site. But the BTC payment gateway (a GoUrl gateway) is set really really low (about $2.00 worth of Bitcoin) and needs testing as well.
Blog4Bitcoin.club is a good place to start the tour. Scroll down a bit to see the other MU sites. Visit the directory in the upper nav bar to add your own website (again, free or paid).
