video://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fht0M3_4aQ
There’s been a lot of rumors that Web 2.0 Expo this year really sucked and I have to agree that there were less innovative companies than last year but it’s a good thing I took my crappy HD camera to take vids of the handfuls that are very, very innovative including this Znak It, launched just 1 day before Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.
Znak It is a company that focuses on creating pay-as-you-go solution for your e-commerce, blog, or anything you are trying to sell such as “premium” content on your website.
It’s a really good idea since a lot of bloggers have “premium” content they could charge some money for. For example, maybe you have a DIY on how to make a POV golf club, and you wouldn’t be able to find this anywhere else in the world, I am sure people would pay for that content. (not that I would)
Here’s Znak It from their solution page:
Znak it! is quick, intuitive and smart. It does not require repeated log-in/log-out procedures and separate debit or credit card payments every time you want to access designated content. Importantly, Znak it! is also very private and secure. Individual transactions are anonymous to the content provider and other users; however, they are SSL encrypted and easily traceable, helping prevent unauthorized use or fraud.
To capture its simplicity and reliability, think of our virtual Znak as a postage stamp, The Znak it! process is another form of modern micro-payment – like marking a letter or document with a pre-paid stamp. In fact, in a couple of European languages, “znak” means a sign, mark or stamp. And just like the original paper-and-glue postage stamp, our virtual Znak can be used universally, by anyone on the Web, and almost instantly.
From what I’ve seen at their Web 2.0 expo booth, Znak It pretty much allows you to use a virtual currency that people can buy with real money to use on buying other stuff. It’s good because Znak It pretty much takes care of small transactions. (e.g. You can charge 20 cents for your premium content. You couldn’t do that with Paypal since Paypal charges at least 30 cents per transaction.)
If Znak-It gets big enough, it might become a viable alternative to Paypal. As for now, we will have to sit and wait, or even go try it out yourself here.
