Like it? Buy me a beer!
My Blackberry and I are usually inseparable, like a boy and his dog, though I’m not quite a boy and I don’t have to feed or clean up after my phone (training it is another story). For whatever reason, I’ve been losing it recently, leaving my BB Tour in places that were frustratingly difficult to remember. In a fit of frustration last night, I did a quick Google search and found WheresMyCellPhone.com, a website that rings your cell phone until you find it. It worked like a charm and I was quickly calmed (in case you were wondering, it was found behind a seat cushion on the couch).
When I returned to my computer , I saw the little message in the middle of the screen where the guy asked for a beer in return for building a useful tool. He didn’t want a donation or a hand out, just a little show of thanks that any beer-loving person would want. If I lost my phone in a bar and this guy found it, I’d absolutely buy him a beer right then and there. Why not now? A few clicks later, my beer was sent to him via PayPal.
I thought this was a fantastic way of getting people to voluntarily pay for a free service. I read a lot of different publications every day and rarely click on an ad link, so I know I’m not one of those valuable pair of eyeballs so often touted by websites that aim to be ad-supported. But what if my favorite author, blogger or sportswriter asked me to buy him or her a beer? Absolutely. That’s a reward (pricing structure) that makes sense to me, and I’d jump at the chance. In beer culture, there’s no greater compliment.
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