I don&#x27;t buy the suggestion that micropayments would work if only there were an easy (for users) and cost-effective way of making and processing them. Yes, there are some chicken and egg issues associated with a payment system that achieves critical mass and that doesn&#x27;t fragment into a bunch of incompatible providers. But, really, that&#x27;s mostly just technology and market development. Given the need&#x2F;demand, I doubt it&#x27;s even very hard.<p>The bigger issue is probably the one that Clay Shirky offered years ago. Mental transaction costs. If I have to decide up-front whether an article is worth reading for a nickel (or whatever), I&#x27;m generally going to pass. At best, I&#x27;m going to have to think about clicking and that injects a lot of friction into the process.