If you convert the bitcoins to cash automatically on reception I don't see any issues with people's confidence in the currency -- it just transparently becomes a payment vector for real dollars that automatically get exchanged via mtgox or whatever.
I really look forward to the day when I can just toss a few bitcoins towards programmers or musicians on the internet. Right now, signing up my credit card for every website I want to interact with is just not going to happen, and Paypal isn't an option for me either.
I wish services like bandcamp and things like bug bounties and the like allowed me to just throw some coins their way, but instead there's this whole complicated credit system with one or more third parties to deal with, and it's annoying. I hate typing my CC number into every damn website I want to make a microtransaction with.
Personally I don't know or care whether bitcoin will transform world economics the way some people predict, but I do think it's a pretty convenient way to deal with internet transactions, even if it's just used as a temporary medium for real currency. This kind of thing, in all honesty, is its "killer app."
I'm not opposed to accepting bitcoin if it's transparent as you describe. As krasin mentions the recurring thing is a sticking point. Here's the ticket:
Thanks. Some pretty interesting discussion on that bug actually. Although I think it wouldn't be too hard to rig up yourself, I have to agree with the guy who suggests just hooking up with a 3rd-party bitcoin payment processor--it might make things easier and more similar to handling other currencies.
I disagree. If I started getting into the habit of throwing some bitcoins at gittip, I might be inclined to send a few over and keep them there with the intention of distributing them to people without having to do a new transaction each time. If they're just used as a way to fill my account there and then instantly changed to dollars, what's the difference between that and a bank transfer? (Except that there is no fee and no hassle.)
If you have subscribed with a credit card, and forgot about the subscription (but generally fine with it), the service would still receive weekly payments.
In case of bitcoin, if you have forgot (that would be the case for 80% of us), the payments are stopped.
But I completely agree that it's possible to implement subscriptions (read: automatic payments) on top of the existing Bitcoin infrastructure.
BitCoin has a pretty serious stigma as an unreliable, hacker friendly currency/scam for trying to buy illegal shit. I think embracing it on a platform that's already niche will make it harder to be seen as a legitimate platform for earning a living.
If you convert the bitcoins to cash automatically on reception I don't see any issues with people's confidence in the currency -- it just transparently becomes a payment vector for real dollars that automatically get exchanged via mtgox or whatever.
I really look forward to the day when I can just toss a few bitcoins towards programmers or musicians on the internet. Right now, signing up my credit card for every website I want to interact with is just not going to happen, and Paypal isn't an option for me either.
I wish services like bandcamp and things like bug bounties and the like allowed me to just throw some coins their way, but instead there's this whole complicated credit system with one or more third parties to deal with, and it's annoying. I hate typing my CC number into every damn website I want to make a microtransaction with.
Personally I don't know or care whether bitcoin will transform world economics the way some people predict, but I do think it's a pretty convenient way to deal with internet transactions, even if it's just used as a temporary medium for real currency. This kind of thing, in all honesty, is its "killer app."