Well played Schmidt, well played.
Look at the page. It's just an informational landing page. no breakdown of the framework, pricing or any details, and once you click the signup button, you are put on a queue for a sales rep to contact you.
I love it though. It's a great case study for startups! I think they're gauging interest with this one, simple page.. and if enough people sign-up they will actually build it over the weekend.
In the past, publishers had to either offer First Click Free or resort to cloaking or other black-hat techniques for their for-pay content. If Google is now willing to allow paywall content into the index for a 3% fee then that's a big deal.
I can't imagine this pushing search results quality in the right direction, at least from the perspective of a typical user.
Update: CNet's explination: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20032217-1.html
Except for the part where as a vendor it's only available in half a dozen countries or so, and several major countries can not pay via Checkout either (does Checkout work at all from canada yet?), and where the customer service is non-existent (a Google constant).
Canada is definitely supported for users.
>Where the customer service is non-existent: Hi. Any specific problem we can help with?
I'm a European and I use a credit card. And I'm pretty sure it's a billion dollar industry in my country alone.
WTF are you talking about?
Credit Cards are a part of everyday in Europe just like everywhere else. And yes, I live in Europe too.
I like how google is empowering their developers with different pricing strategies. Before it was plain vanilla, either you pay, or its free. Yes you can pay for an app and within 15 minutes ask for a refund, but I have trouble sending in a rebate, I know i'll forgot within those 15 minutes.
With these extra payment options, and from what I understand, easy charging system, having someone drop a dollar on content with few clicks or even being able to implement coupons for your content/application will be greatly appreciated. =)
I really don't think it's much different.
I personally think trying to fit every type of publication in one hole is a much worse solution.
I'm not saying those are bad things, just wondering what it has to do with "Open". Unless of course Google is just continuing to use it as a buzzword.
http://www.google.com/landing/onepass/
Edit: Ah, same problem. Sorry.
Edit 2: It's working now, but they are only after "some partners" so I guess it's a private Beta as such at the moment.
It is undeniable that Google has enough gravity as an identity provider to encourage publishers to adopt such a model.
I don't really see how to get people to pay for an article sight unseen, though. Familiarity with content by known authors may be enough for some.
I'm thinking of previous discussions such as:
Google Checkout Nightmare and the $126,000 phone call:
So I'd expect that to result in a "yes"
EDIT: Oh he said customer service. Google's direct customer service is notoriously nonexistent.
