Michael J O’Hara is a print and online media expert having close to 20 years experience in both on and offline media.  He has served as President and Publisher of one of New York City’s leading alternative newspapers and online portals, The New York Press.  Michael also holds a bit of Virtual World experience, having served as CEO of 3D Pipeline, a premier enterprise software company with physics-based rendering engines used in flight simulation, surgical medical training, sensor development, and educational training and research.

Stemming from our initial conversation concerning Walter Isaacson’s rapidly becoming ‘infamous’ Time article in which he puts forth the concept of saving print media via online microtransactions, Michael and I sat down to discuss the state of print media and where microtransactions fit into the mix.

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O’Hara agrees that both ‘analogue’ and online digital media publishers are desperately seeking a mechanism that will compensate them, thereby allowing them to pay for good journalism and provide readers with a more robust content application.

“I think if microtransactions could take off, it could be a real bone for these guys,” says O’Hara, “…most of them have attempted or dabbled in the subscription model, and the only one who’s been marginally successful from an analogue to digital perspective is the Wall Street Journal.”

[When media mogul Rupert Murdoch acquired the Wall Street Journal he publically speculated about dropping the monthly subscription fee.  However, after reviewing the revenues, Murdoch decided to stand by the fee; a decision which has now proven to be very wise.]

Searching my internal memory bank of how online print media has run its course over the years, from charging to not charging and back to charging again, Michael offers up his opinions on the reasoning behind it all.  “The economy is certainly driving this even more, with all the layoffs, and the fact that subscriptions, most publishers would agree, are not going to be able to drive eyeballs to their pages by charging subscriptions.”

“Arguably, when you’re talking about a business model, I could say, if you sell enough microtransactions and someone thinks your product is that good eventually they’ll convert to a subscription.  That’s why I think that they may keep going down two paths, but that microtransactions might drive them into a subscription.”

As with all things that were once free, but now require a fee, there’s bound to be some resentment or push back from the average consumer.  To this O’Hara says, “I think it’s probably a question of convenience.”  Making a strong case by using Adobe’s Acrobat (pdf) software as an example, Michael explains, “I always think back to the time when we were first sent our first adobe pdf file, and you’re thinking, oh crap, I have to download another application to be able to read this, why can’t they just send it to me in word?  …We all downloaded it for the first time, and now you can’t imagine a day without using a pdf file.  I think the same thing holds true for microtransactions.”

“You’re going to have someone who’s an opinion leader, a tipping point, that isn’t a threat, but someone that these content people follow that’s going to have to stick their neck out there and make it an adoptable formula.”

With online games, both PC and console, as well as with virtual worlds, we’ve all become accustomed to microtransactions, and their place and value in our chosen entertainment.  Since this is not the case with print and online media, I asked Michael his thoughts on whether the device delivering the content could further drive this business model.

“I think that the one platform everyone has is a mobile phone, which are increasingly becoming mini computers, and although the screen is smaller and it’s not as user friendly, when you talk about iPod and Steve Jobs, he could have charged almost anything.  $.099 was the magic number, and the adoption was because so many people had the iPod; the other mp3 devices could have given it away and not been as successful as Jobs was at selling them at $0.99, and that’s the tipping point.”

“We’ve reached the time, it’s whether or not people can adopt a singular platform, and I think that’s the key to this [microtransaction] success.”

I then put Michael in the driver’s seat and asked him what he would do if this were his project.  “I would try it.  There’s no doubt in my mind that I would try microtransactions. “

“The more that we become attuned to this is really the only way you get a good story, there are certain stories you’re willing to pay 10 cents or two bits for, then I think you’ll see that tipping point, you’ll see the adoption curve swing over, and that’s what’s necessary.”

Find out more about Michael J O’Hara at The O’Hara Company and/or talk to him directly on twitter.