

Tipjoy (YC W08) now allows payments via Twitter - ivankirigin
http://tipjoys2cents.blogspot.com/2008/12/tip-via-twitter.html

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ivankirigin
I'm really excited about this because of where we can go with this.

The idea of a "rtip" or tip/retweet is the biggest innovation here. It's
exactly how twitter is already used to disperse information, but adds a social
gesture with monetary weight. That's pretty powerful. If you like a tweet,
just say "rtip $1 @username the awesome tweet".

Lots of sites use Twitter credentials, and this means they can initiate
payments. It also makes those payments inherently social, as they are
broadcasted - so in ways it is better than an OAuth system. But we're planning
that too.

We are also accepted new signups via twitter credentials
<http://tipjoy.com/createaccount/platform/twitter/>

We're going to open this up to an API, meaning sites based on twitter
credentials can convert their whole user base to tipjoy users. I'm really
looking forward to see what can be done with these tools.

~~~
omakase
The potential for this idea is what got me excited the minute I saw your post.

As an aside, I think twitter still needs to release support for OAuth, there
are too many sites out there storing twitter credentials in plain text right
now. Careful developers should be hashing the passwords with some secret salt
so at least their users passwords aren't at risk if someone ever gains access
to their db.

These aren't really your issues, but twitter needs to add proper
authentication. Anyways -- this is a great from tipjoy -- looking fwd to what
comes next.

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halo
I'm sure this wasn't 'inspired' by twitpay.me at all, released and announced
here 15 days ago (<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=369568>)

~~~
ivey
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so we at Twitpay are
taking it as a compliment.

~~~
Herring
With compliments like that, who needs insults?

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juanpablo
Too many "pay words"! I don't know if that's the case but you should really
check they aren't part of a casual tweet.

Eg.

"I'm not going to pay @joe $1000 for an old ipod!" or

"Everyone! Give @bob $10 to buy beer".

~~~
ivankirigin
We thought of this. They need to be in the first 3 tokens.

So this would indeed count, "Give @bob $10 to buy beer" but that is clearly a
closer to a command.

More importantly, this is an opt-in option, so it would be hard to do it
without knowing.

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Dilpil
Am I the only one who is EXTREMELY skeptical that anyone is going to actually
give out money using these applications?

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mattmaroon
Nice feature. I would use this if I frequented Twitter. I have sick friends
who would throw money around like that for fun though.

~~~
ivankirigin
You tweet sometimes. They're usually pretty funny, so you should do it more.
I'm pretty sure twitter will be closer to an ecosystem of tips, considering
everyone is a "blogger" - though some with greater followings.

~~~
mattmaroon
Yeah, I log in a few times a week, and read whatever posts are on the first
page. That's about it.

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bootload
_"... Tipjoy now allows payments via Twitter ..."_

Go Abby & Ivan

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nostrademons
This is pretty cool. Congrats, TipJoys!

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smahend
"inspired" is probably not the right word. i think directly stolen from
twitpay is probably better

~~~
calambrac
"Stolen", really? It's business, not super friendly fun time. Competition
happens.

~~~
ivankirigin
Tipjoy is all about super friendly fun time. Like at our poker nights. Come by
if you're in the Boston area (and a startup hacker/foudner):
<http://www.meetup.com/Boston-Startup-Poker/>

~~~
gwc
What if you're not, but would like to be?

~~~
lanceweatherby
Come up with a decent concept and team and then get funded by YC.

~~~
gwc
Seems a little involved just to get in on a poker game. :)

~~~
ivey
If you're already in Boston, the startup part is easy.
Idea+Incorporation=Instant CEO

He didn't say you had to be part of a _viable_ startup to play.

~~~
ivankirigin
Viable is determined on exit, right?

Anyone reading this is welcome to the game. And if you want an excuse to move
to Boston, tipjoy is hiring: <http://tipjoy.com/jobs>

~~~
ivey
Ivan, I assume you saw @tensigma's invitation on Twitter to play poker if
you're ever in Atlanta, but I'll mention it here, too. He's not any good,
though, so go easy on him.

~~~
ivankirigin
Even people that think they are good are still usually just playing by
intuition, like me. I'd love to play. We should set up a network of startup
poker games across the country. Poker is the new incubator.

Given this fundraising environment, it might be a good financing strategy too.

~~~
ivey
That was a session at BarCamp Atlanta: Startup funding via poker.

~~~
ivankirigin
Zynga does that, but plays the role of the house.

