An Update from the Web Monetization Workshop
Tags: webmonetization, interledger, opensource, webdev
Published: 2021-08-24 14:59:37

This article shares some highlights and next steps from the recently concluded [2021 Web Monetization Workshop](https://workshop.webmonetization.org/) hosted by Coil. Follow along as the Web Monetization specifications see some new changes and updates.

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## Project Showcase
During the Project Showcase session at the Workshop, participants saw demos and talks from Developers, Designers, Creators, and others who shared their stories and experiences working with Web Monetization. At Showcase, we had 13 pre-recorded presentations by:

- **Matt Baer**, Founder and CEO @ Write.as
- **Joel Wasserman**, Founder @ Flossbank
- **Erica Hargreave**, Immersive & Interactive Storyteller & Educator @ Ahimsa Media / StoryToGo / Roamancing
- **Michiel de Jong**, Founder @ Ponder Source
- **Matt Mankins**, Mozilla Fellow
- **Hannah Grijns**, Concept developer @ Waag
- **Thomas Visco**, Community and Partnerships Manager @ Permanent Legacy Foundation
- **Fernando Daguanno**, Founder @ Alquimétricos
- **Matthew Henshall**, CEO @ room.sh
- **Andrzej Mazur**, Founder @ Enclave Games
- **Amber Case**, Mozilla Fellow
- **Yuriy Dybskiy**, CEO @ Puma Browser
- **Alex Lakatos**, Technical Lead at Interledger Foundation

A replay of the Web Monetization Showcase is available at workshop.webmonetization.org.


[![Alt Web Monetization Workshop replay](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/qm04t9pgbail8hzpudam.png)](https://cinnamon.video/embed?v=638245277794305033)

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## Technical Architecture session
The technical discussion featured the following topics and feedback raised on [Github](https://github.com/WICG/webmonetization/issues), [Community forum](https://community.webmonetization.org/) and [Discussion channels](https://discourse.wicg.io/search?q=webmonetization).

[![Alt Web Monetization Workshop](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/p3dsf39im19zdxzzo080.png)](https://workshop.webmonetization.org/)

On some of the discussed items, a consensus was reached about how to proceed and a spec update is currently underway. Below are the top 4 items:

### Branding
Because the current Web Monetization logo/icon uses the dollar symbol, a working group is being formed to internationalize the Web Monetization logo and branding.

Furthermore, considerations are being made for a provider-independent Call to Action (CTA) phrase and icon like the [Support me with Coil](https://coil.com/press) button to be used for the Web Monetization ecosystem. 

### Meta vs Link tag
After discussing the pros and cons of the <meta> vs <link> tag, the <link> tag was selected as the choice for setting payment pointers.

And a [pull request has been created by W3C's Marcos Cáceres](https://github.com/WICG/webmonetization/pull/193) to update the specification from using <meta> to <link>.

For backward compatibility, Providers like Coil will continue to support both the <meta> to <link> tag.

### Web Monetization Events
The *MonetizationStart*, *MonetizationProgress* and *Stop* events were discussed. And the events will be simplified from 3 events to 2 events in a future specification update. The proposed new events are:
- Error
- Progress

### Document.monetization vs Navigator.Monetization
Currently, Web Monetization is implemented in the Document Object. However, for developer and browser vendor purposes, there was discussion to move the Monetization object to Navigator.

Further discussions on this topic are happening at https://github.com/WICG/webmonetization/issues/24

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## Future of the Web Monetization Specification
Anyone can contribute to Web Monetization and join the current maintainers to update the specs, build with Web Monetization, or support other maintainers. Some ways to get involved are:

### Spec update
- Create issues on Github. [See issues](https://github.com/WICG/webmonetization/issues)
- Open Pull Requests [Pull Requests](https://github.com/WICG/webmonetization/pulls)
- Participate in community discussions and feedback. [community.webmonetization.org](https://community.webmonetization.org/)

### Implement Web Monetization in Browser
- Browser Scholar program. [Apply](https://www.grantfortheweb.org/blog/browser-technical-scholar)
- Collaborate with browser vendors to implement Web Monetization [Contact Interledger Foundation](http://interledger.org/)
- Grant for the Web [Apply for a Grant](https://www.grantfortheweb.org/apply)

### Rafiki open source project
- Contribute to Rafiki [github.com/interledger/rafiki](github.com/interledger/rafiki)

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Thank you for reading and watch the Workshop Showcase replay at [workshop.webmonetization.org/stage/showcase2](https://workshop.webmonetization.org/stage/showcase2)

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