If there were a way, in less than five seconds, that you could pay for online content (10 cents, a quarter, a dollar at a time) with no fees, no hassles.

Would the quality of online stuff increase?

Does the existence of a market increase the supply?

Scott McCloud (brilliant, blow you away cartoon theorist, who’s also a cartoonist) has a rant about BitPass. Rather than sending you to the company’s site, start with the rant, because it’s easier to understand the point of view when you see it in opposition to a critic: Misunderstanding Micropayments – Scott McCloud.

Well, I joined BitPass, and I bought Scott’s first online for money comic (it’s really good, and totally worth a quarter.)

As most of you know, I’ve been at (okay, near) the forefront of the “attention equals cash” argument, pointing out that getting someone’s permission is worth far more than getting their quarter. But now that things are settling down online, I wonder if there’s a chance for BOTH to happen.

Take a look.

PS I think BitPass may have a good solution, but I’m sure they’ve got competition. I also know that an aggressive affiliate arrangement would change the entire dynamic of the business for them…