Google is offering a paid alternative to ads with 'Contributor'

"Today's internet is mostly funded by advertising," Google's introduction for Contributor reads. "But what if there were a way to directly support the people who create the sites you visit each day?"

What if indeed? Google Contributor is offering just that, letting users pay a small monthly fee to remove ads on participating websites.

Using Google Contributor costs just $1 (£.64, AU1.16) to $3 (£1.91, AU$3.47) per month, and a portion of the money goes directly to websites you visit that are within the Contributor network.

And when you visit those websites, all the Google ads you'd normally see are hidden, replaced by pixelated "thank you" messages.

Not too shabby

So websites make money, and users no longer have to put up with annoying ads. What's the catch?

For one thing this obviously only applies to Google ads, since Google can't force other advertisers to remove their own ads as well.

And the number of participating websites, including Urban Dictionary, The Onion, Science Daily, wikiHow, Mashable, and imgur, is currently small.

But Contributor could be the start of a brand new website-reader economy, one that's been speculated on and experimented with but never tested en masse before now.

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