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This company was formed in March 2010 in Malmo, Sweden, by Peter Sunde
and Linus Olsson. (Peter Sunde was also a founder of Pirate Bay, which uses the
BitTorrent search engine. BitTorrent is reported to comprise about 35% of all web
traffic.)
The company is a pioneer in the new domain of
microdonations
. These are
small donations of $200 or less that are contributed over the web from computers
or via a smartphone, often using PayPal or a web finance transaction method. (Sur-
prisingly, microdonations have become so widespread that about 25% of the U.S.
2012 presidential campaign funds came from them. This was the first presidential
election in history where microdonations were large enough to possibly impact the
outcome.)
To use Flattr, a subscription is necessary. Users set up a Flattr account and con-
tribute a fixed amount monthly, such as a few euros. Flattr itself takes 10% of these
fees for the costs of maintaining the service. Once an account is established, users
of Flattr can make contributions to various websites. The name “Flattr” is derived
from the common word “flatter.” The idea is to augment verbal encouragement of
interesting and useful websites with small donations.
In December 2010, a tweet asserted that Flattr was being used to help fund the
famous WikiLeaks site that distributes top-secret classified information to the dis-
may of the government and military officials. However, this is noted as a web as-
sertion and is not a verified fact.
In order to receive Flattr donations, websites have to be prepared to accept
them. Some blogging platforms such as WordPress and Blogger support Flattr. A
special FireFox add-in is also available. Money is put in and taken out of Flattr
accounts via PayPal or a number of credit card and financial companies that sup-
port the method, such as Bitcoin. Incidentally, the subindustry of electronic fund
transfers of small amounts is becoming a major new social and financial topic of
great importance during this decade.
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