Flattr Introduces Direct Donations and Offline QR Codes

Flattr introduced an interesting take on donations and micropayments, offering a simple and elegant solution to 'tipping' your favorite artists, developers and so on. Flattr's central feature was that users only paid a fixed sum each month, which would then be split between the beneficiaries. But Flattr is now introducing the possibility to donate a specific amount.

"On every user-profile page you will now find a 'Donate' button in the profile box to the right. Click it and you can give some of your available means away," Flattr announced.

"Alternatively after you’ve flattred something and re-click to Subscribe (automatically flattr each future month), you can also Donate from that pop-up too," the blog post added.

Plenty of artists, open source developers, bloggers and so on have tried to provide their fans with a way to make small donations. But payment systems like PayPal were not exactly created for this and involved too many steps for most users.

Flattr wants to make donations as simple as clicking on a Like button. You provide a monthly sum and you can then click on any Flattr button you see. All it takes to donate is one click and the money you provided will be distributed evenly at the end of the month.

But people also wanted a way to make a fixed donation if they found something they really liked. Now Flattr provides this possibility.

Flattr also got an Android app recently and there is now a way to use it to tip via Flattr in the real world as well. However, you can use any QR code scanner on any mobile device for the same thing.

"As we think physical things are as important as the internet we now have enabled your to flattr them too. Submit a physical (offline) IRL thing and then print your thing QR-code. Stick it to the wall (or something) and wait for a flattr user to see it," Flatter explained.