Online tipping and its implications
Tags: crypto, internet
Published: 2022-06-12 12:36:50

Have you ever been to New York? The amount of advertisement is mind blowing. I personally didn't like that, and probably the majority will agree. 

Something similar has been happening all over the internet for some time now. We are bombarded by so many images and advertising that sometimes is hard to focus on what was the intention of the visit in the first place.

Why is this happening? Well because most of the content is rewarded to creators by showcasing advertisement. In most cases with content that people don't want to see.

Struggling to find the content through the advertisement jungle has become normal. Why? Aren't there other ways of rewarding content creators? And so, why are those alternatives not been used as much?

![pop ups](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/me2baqj5hx8gpnlw3if8.gif)

> Gif from www.tychesoftwares.com

**Is there someone to blame for all these pop ups?** Yes, unfortunately there is and his name is [Ethan Zuckerman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Zuckerman) 

I didn't know about his existence before writing the article and probably you won't as well. But let's not blame him for what he didn't know what would happen. And he also [apologized](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2014/08/15/the-man-who-invented-pop-up-ads-says-im-sorry/) so all is good. Is it? Let's move on....

## A fresh vision for the future

Sites as [Pexels](https://pexels.com) inspire me. They are an example of what the future of the internet could look like. A clean site with quality content and passionate photographers that are incentivized by voluntary donations from users.

**_Publicity badly targeted suddenly is no longer the best way of receiving support online_**

But there is another problem, most of the current online donation’s systems are tedious, they require a minimum age (18+), credit card information, PayPal accounts and have high fees that end up in the hands of third parties.

In case of PayPal for example, [look at all the information and documents](https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-can-i-get-my-nonprofit-set-up-with-paypal-to-accept-donations-faq1068) you need to set up an account to receive donations online. Just reading it, gives me an instant migraine.

Other platforms like [buy me a coffee](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/) have age restrictions (18+) , high fees for every movement and you can only withdraw to systems linked to the banking grid. In case you would like to withdraw to a crypto address such as Bitcoin to do whatever you want, then you can't. 

So, you can be super motivated to start your online venture to create content in exchange for donations. And suddenly if you don't meet the requirements like the minimum age, then you can't continue.

![sudden brake](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/s0hi54i6o8ntn6512yaw.gif)

> Gif from www.giphy.com

When I experienced this reality in 2020 I couldn't believe there weren't any better options. Or maybe there were...

## The crypto universe
 
[Cointree](https://cointr.ee) It is an easy to setup, platform and uses crypto for tipping, but the quality and the speed of the website it's not the best.

Cryptocurrencies are the way to go in this regard. Comparing the dollar or the euro to the speed and transaction fees of cryptos is like comparing a tortoise to a falcon. Some of them are quite amazing. You can send transactions instantly for pennies and move your money in complete freedom, without having to ask for permissions to third parties or be obliged to withdraw to a bank. 

If you receive tips with crypto, you can: invest it, save it with interest, trade it for other cryptos, send to a friend, sell for your local currency, withdraw to your bank (some countries) and the list goes on.

When you experience this freedom and speed, you don't want to go back. It is the cryptocurrency superpower. And from my perspective the underlying technology for online tip systems of the future.

All these reasons led me to develop [an open source project](https://tipmedash.com) which uses Dash to send and receive tips. I chose [this crypto](https://dash.org) because honestly I was blown away after trying it. 

If you want to know more about the project you can visit the repo [here](https://github.com/gass-git/tip-me-dash). What do you think about all of this? Do you agree/disagree with my perspective? Would you like to add something? Share your thoughts.