The Clickshare Service is sometimes miscast as similar to so-called "micropayments" systems. In fact, the ability to enable micropayments is but one feature of Clickshare.

Many publishers remain skeptical that users want to purchase information on a "per-query" basis. But they can still benefit by using Clickshare. The Clickshare Service sets up a protocol for optional transferring of user preferences/demographics among distributed web sites -- and sending back, in real time -- knowledge to the user's "home base" web site about what they are doing or have done elsewhere on the net, including remote-site purchasing. This offers publishers, ISPs, portals and "audience owners" the potential to build powerful affiliate networks exchanging markups, royalties, commissions or incentives -- yet keep control of their own user base and protect user privacy.

It has potential value to advertisers as a method for universal audience measurement by identified user, to portal sites which want to link their affiliated websites in a mechanism for sharing user demographics and tracking data, and to "audience owner" such as telcos, ISPs, banks and utilities who want to offer the added service to their customers of easy, consolidated-account information purchase across the Internet.

Most important, Clickshare does not inject itself into the end-user's relationship with the user "owner."

There are already a number of models for the use of "per-item" payments in the physical world -- long-distance tolls, utility pricing and grocery purchasing are two are three examples. It could be said, for example, that America Online uses a "micropayments" model similar to Clickshare within its own network. It charges its users a flat monthly fee. But it keeps track of how many clicks various partner "channels" are receiving for purposes of calculating royalties or other advertising or commission payments. AOL can do this because they have a "stateful" connection with all of their customers. Obviously it can't do it when they go off onto the 'Net.

Thus micropayment capability is a byproduct of the core functionality and design objective of universal tracking by identified user -- something which NO OTHER technology has implemented yet in a fashion which works across the Internet with standard HTTP protocols and absent the significant complicating factor of "wallet" software on the end-user's machine.

The real opportunity presented by Clickshare is the ability to give consumer's choice: Choice over how their demographic information is used, and choice over who the entrust with that information and their private information.