AnyMeeting, a provider of web conferencing software, has a new feature for the rich, famous, and the aspiring-to-be-famous-but-not-quite-yet-but-still-going-to-try-making-money-off-it. The company has integrated PayPal’s merchant service and a ticketing system into their web conferencing platform, allowing would be stars to charge for admission into their online soirées.

Looks like Making Money Online Inc. just got a new member.

I’ma Chargin For Webinars!

The announcement for the new functionality was made by Bob Menzies, AnyMeeting’s PR specialist, on the company’s August 15th post on the company blog. Bob explains the simple process for creating an event with a paywall:

“To start letting webinars work for you and increase your bottom line, simply enter your PayPal account information when you are creating the event registration form, and set a price for your event.  Soon the money will start rolling in as people start buying seats.  You can even set codes for any special pricing or discounts you would like to include.

Your attendees will then have the option of paying for the ticket using their personal PayPal account or a credit card.  AnyMeeting just takes a small percentage of the revenue generated to pay for business expenses related to the transaction.”

The service does require a verified PayPal Merchant account in order to begin accepting payment.

Imagine what you can do with this new functionality. You can charge for an online research presentation. You could put together seminars or an online learning course. You can charge people for a virtual party where they dance with virtual people, drink virtual drinks, and eat virtual food. All virtually! Joking aside, the feature does hold some interesting promise for the different ways it could be used for generating revenue, especially for small businesses or individuals. It offers research companies a new avenue for monetizing and presenting data to audiences that don’t want to read a paper. People running workshops and lectures that are usually limited by physical/practical constraints could charge for a second tier virtual learning option for their offerings.

It’s a cool idea.

But.

There’s always a but isn’t there?

I wonder how willing people will be to pay for something they traditionally view as free. When was the last time you remember needing to pay in order to watch a webinar? Paying for something that’s expected as free might be a bit jarring/annoying for audiences. Our web obsessed culture is accustomed to receiving nearly everything on the Internet for free. There isn’t too much media that people are willing to pay for. The only way it works is if the information isn’t accessible any other way and it’s valuable.

Anyhow, I might be busy uploading a 10 part $100 a ticket webinar on making my world famous $1,000,000 chili. Hey, it’s a good deal right?

What’s your take on AnyMeeting’s monetization features? Is it a valuable new way to build revenue streams for its users and itself? Or will it be doomed to a freezing spiral of obsolescence? Share your thoughts in the comments below.