The ‘Facebook of Latin America' Taringa! Just Paid $76,000 in Bitcoin to its Users

Just over six months after the launch of its Creadores program, Latin America’s biggest social network Taringa! has distributed 195 BTC — or $76,000 USD — to its top content creating users in what may be one of the best use-cases for the cryptocurrency to date.

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‘An important incentive’

The top contributor has received over $2,000 USD in bitcoin just six month after the launch of the “Creadores” program on Taringa!, whose 75 million unique users puts it second only to Facebook in Latin America. The program has already attracted 15,478 users, according to Head of PR and Communication at Taringa!, Agustina Fourquet. Moreover, she notes that participating users have increased their content production by 30%.

Fourquet told Bitcoin.com:

“During the first six months, users who started to participate in the program increased their production of content on the site and what’s more is that it is high quality, valuable content. Many users, who up until now created content as a hobby on the site, can now receive additional income and without a doubt this is an important incentive for them.”

Taringa! Creadores electronically rewards users, who create the best content on the site by using a revenue share program where ad revenue is distributed among the users. The currency that makes this new model possible is Bitcoin, following the partnership deal signed with Palo Alto-based Bitcoin wallet service provider Xapo back in April 2015, which some claim is the largest implementation of Bitcoin to date in terms of user exposure.

First 5 Users Earning Bitcoin in Taringa!

1st: Bernardino is a Mexican psychologist, teacher, and is in the process of getting a graduate diploma. He has been a member of Taringa! since 2012 under the nickname @Beriku and publishes unusual images to pique users’ curiosities. Bernardino earned over $2,000 USD from the program.

2nd: Juan Lopez has been an Argentine Taringa! user since 2005. He has the nickname @juanjuju and has already received 3,523,666 bits (over $1,300 USD). The first post with which he started earning bits was his own list of 19 stunning photos. Besides bitcoin, he also received 120 favorites, 130 comments and over 8,000 points within the community.

3rd: Gonzalo Acosta is Uruguayan, works for Unicef and became a Taringa! user in October 2014 with the nickname @elpichiario. So far, he has earned 522,940 bits or about $197 USD. The first post with which he received bits was a collection of stories and images of people who helped to fulfill the last wish of dying patients.

4th: Rodrigo Loyola, an Argentine who lives in Spain, has been a member of Taringa! since 2012 under the nickname @SoyDarkDamBanneD. As a daily poster, he writes about cars and gamers. Since he joined Taringa! Creators he has earned 2,788,704 bits ($1,053 USD). The first post with which he received bits in Taringa! was a tutorial titled, “Can your PC survive without antivirus?”

5th: Juanjo Ortiz is a Spaniard and a passionate World War II historian. He’s been a Taringa! user since 2010 with the nickname @grisom_es and mainly uses the site to share his notes, research and articles about the war, which he also writes for his blog. He received his first bits for his post: “Berghof, Hitler’s home in Berchtesgaden,” with which he earned 660,729 bits ($250 USD).

Social ‘Bits’

In addition, Taringa! has also launched another program that’s open to all of the platform’s users called Bits. This platform translates each point received by a post in Taringa!, automatically converting it to a bit (a fraction of a bitcoin) that’s then deposited into a Xapo account.

“Bits […] is a program that increased the possibility of Bitcoin access to all of the users on the site,” explains Fourquet. “Each point that a user receives in Taringa! can be transferred to a bit and deposited into the user’s wallet. The points are granted to the users on the site who create posts considered valuable and each user can give a maximum of 10 points on each post, daily.”

Taringa!, however, is by no means the first to implement cryptocurrency for profit sharing and incentivizing online content creators. Services such as Obits, Peertracks, Cleartracks and others are paving the way for a new paradigm, where internet-friendly cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are used to transfer value, circumventing many of the intermediaries and red tape associated with using fiat currencies, enabling creators to get paid directly.

Bitcoin.com spoke in detail with Agustina Fourquet to gain more insight on how bitcoin is transforming the way online content is incentivized, distributed and compensated.

Bitcoin.com (BC): How does Bitcoin actually work on the Taringa! platform?

Agustina Fourquet (AF): The user must first be registered in the program Taringa! Creators, which for now are being sent by private invitations. But, little by little it will open to all creators of site content. Then, the post must pass site moderation filters and respect all rules required by the community. The main indicator that the content is valuable is both the level of engagement and how it has been received by the community.

For example, engagement is measured by the amount of post views, comments and shares on Taringa! and in other social networks, as well as the score given by other users from the program. Using this data, Taringa! applies a revenue share scheme, through which it shares a portion of the advertizing revenue generated by that article and makes the payment in Bitcoins, using a wallet that every user must open in Xapo. Users open a Xapo’s Bitcoin wallet account, where Taringa! deposits the bits. Later, Bitcoins can be used for whatever they want. They can save them, transfer them to others, or use them to pay for services, which accept this payment currency.

BC: How did the results so far compare to your expectations?

AF: We are very satisfied with this first stage where the program has been opening gradually to 15,000 users on the site and we know that it has a lot more potential. It is comforting for us to have been able to realize this project that we had been thinking about for a while as we were finally given the conditions to move it forward.

“Many people are thankful and think that it’s fair of Taringa! to reward them for the content which they generated for free up until now.”

BC: What are your projections for 2016 and beyond?

AF: Throughout 2016 the project is going to continue and there are still many bitcoins left to give out. This implies a change in the Taringa! model because it is the first time the revenue share scheme has been implemented. Additionally to being fair for the users who create content, it is also important in order to think what the platform will be like over the long term. So, throughout 2016 the platform will keep increasing the quantity of users.

BC: What has the feedback been like from users?

AF: Among some of the positive feedback from users, on one hand there is the possibility to access a virtual currency that could not be accessed in any other way. Above and beyond the currency, many people are thankful and think that it’s fair of Taringa! to reward them for the content which they generated for free up until now. Many users created posts dedicated to what they plan to buy with the bitcoins. This included items like cell phones, services such as paying for cable and other bills, and video games for PlayStation.

“Many users created posts dedicated to what they plan to buy with the bitcoins.”

Among some of the negative feedback is that Bitcoin is not a currency, which has very much penetration throughout Latin America. Although some businesses accept them as a form of payment, it’s not yet very widespread and some have expressed their desire for the use of a different currency. Also, there are users who believe that bitcoin encourages people to create posts, but not necessarily of better quality.

BC: Do Taringa! employees get paid or use Bitcoin?

AF: No, Bitcoins are only used for the Creadores program and for users. It is not used as a way to reward our employees.

BC: Are there any plans to further integrate Bitcoin, blockchain technology or altcoins?

AF: No, for the moment the idea is to continue using Bitcoin.

What do you think of Taringa! and their use-case for bitcoin? Will it revolutionize how online content is created? Share your thoughts and comment below!

Images courtesy of Taringa.net