Seven months ago I started using Brave browser because I liked the idea of tipping my content providers (first tiny post I made). Accrue BAT in exchange for being served ads in the form of a notification. You can either close the notification or click it to open the sponsor’s website in another tab.
When you accrue enough BAT (cryptocurrency) you have the choice to give it away, rewarding those websites that you frequent, and as a way to say thank you for the enjoyment your content has given me.
I was totally intrigued with the idea of mainstream gifting, I think partly because I come from a Burning Man background.
Today Bing.com started offering their own version of the rewards program. It is launched during the Covid19 pandemic and features a non-profit for you to donate to, and first up: CDC Foundation. Here is the article: https://www.onmsft.com/news/enable-this-new-bing-setting-to-donate-your-microsoft-rewards-earnings-to-charities-for-free
Well that’s all well and good, but I can’t find any more information about it, mainly, that the reward is cryptocurrency, and the last time I checked I didn’t see an easy way to turn that into cash, so how does it help the CDC Foundation?
So maybe the reward is not cash. Maybe the cryptocurrency is a way to mark the significance you bring to the Internet. The more cryptocurrency you have shows how many people like you. Your website and content then become more revered and well thought of. You rise to the ranks of stardom.
Could this be a solid signal for search engine ranking algorithms to use in the future? Or, could it take the place of the algorithm? How do we kick the search engine habit who’s priority/order of results have been bought & sold anyway? How do we turn search engine results into something that is governed by the people, like block chain?
