New features: payytron levels, social influence tracking with short links, and newspaper layout

We've deployed new features that bring to light the social aspects of patronage. By creating a network of micropatronage, payyattention helps payytrons connect with authors that they support, share great material with others, and promote that material on the payyattention paid aggregator. These new features enhance all of these experiences.

The updated screencast illustrates the new features. They are also explained below.

As payytrons give money to articles, they are simultaneously building a history of patronage for the authors of those articles. Payytron Levels quantify that history into three levels of patronage. The first is defined by having made any payment in the last month, the second is for having made payments totalling $1 or more/month, and the third is $10 or more/month. Users that attain these levels get an indicator on the badge that appears on the author's site. Furthermore, authors can give rewards to payytrons based upon their level. The first such reward available is ad-free... others are coming.

One question people ask is how much good they can do with a 10¢ contribution. Well, the answer is: a lot if many people do it. In order to help you get the word out, we've added the payy.to Short Link Service. Each short link (eg http://payy.to/p) redirects directly to the source document, and acts as a kind of receipt of payment: it represents the money that you gave to the article. Payytrons can click to share these short links with a twitter message. As those short links are followed by other users, the hits for the article and the short link are updated. Furthermore, as subsequent payments are made, the chain of followed short links is updated to reflect the influence they have had in supporting the article. So payytrons can watch their dime gain social leverage, and see the total amount derived from their spreading of the article.

We've changed the user experience of the main aggregator page. Now it reflects both key dimensions: the number of payytrons and the total value paid to each article. The broader the support, the wider the appearance of the article; the greater the average amount of each payment, the taller the article. The result is a Newspaper-style Layout that better reflects the depth and breadth of support that articles have received.

We've also updated the appearance of the embedded badge itself. It is now presented in the voice of the author, stressing the relationship between authors and readers. We've also added sign-in with twitter, making it even easier to get started as a payytron.

We are still invitation-only. Please follow us on twitter (@payyattn) or email us to request an invitation.