Chinese tabloid develops app that pays you to read

A leading Chinese tabloid Southern Metropolis Daily has developed and released a new app named Bingdu which not only allows users to read the news, but also gives them the chance to make money by sharing in the app’s advertising revenue.

Users will receive money depending on their level of engagement with news stories and the tabloid awards points based on factors including the amount of stories read and how frequently the user shares stories within their social networks.

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Bingdu features everything from serious investigative reporting to more light-hearted entertainment stories and the developers of the app have however warned that anybody using the app should not have illusions of becoming rich.

Users average fewer than 50 points a day, which can be exchanged for US$0.04 and in an interview with Storybench, Fei Wang, the editorial director of Bingdu, noted that money making is only a small, albeit attention-grabbing, portion of the app.

“Monetizing the reading experience is just a gimmick to attract users,” he said. “We are aware that we could not count on this to keep their attention forever.”

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