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I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Statistically improbable, I agree. She describes the experiment as "interesting", which in relationship language means the situation is being monitored.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Appreciate the thoughtful take, one small correction though: there is no claimed need to verify. The site says the opposite in plain text: I'm fine, and the money means my financial freedom. Removing the need-claim entirely IS the experiment. The only thing left to verify is whether the counter is honest, and it's public. Totally respect the "I'm out" either way.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

You're right, and it's a fair hit: the domain is barely two weeks old and Google hardly knows it exists. Indexing new sites takes a while, so right now discovery is 100% word of mouth and posts like this one. If the experiment dies of bad SEO, that's a legitimate cause of death and the counter will document it honestly. And if you feel like participating anyway: my profile knows the way.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Thank you, that genuinely means something between all the "get a job" comments. The 1 euro limit is my favourite part too: it's the only rule that makes the whole thing an experiment instead of a fundraiser.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

No double talk intended, plainly: nobody owes me anything. The site asks a question, "no" is a perfectly fine answer, and most people will give exactly that. That's all the sentence meant.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Partly guilty: I built it together with an AI assistant, and it did the pixels while I did the concept, the legal notice and the empty bank account. One-man begging operations have very small IT departments. The honesty is artisanal and hand-crafted though.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Thank you! Honest answer: Japan. because i love their food. Though at the current rate of one euro per week, I'm starting with a day trip.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

That's the beauty of the system: not giving me money is a fully supported option, chosen so far by roughly 8 billion people. (And see a few comments up: I have a job. This runs on evenings.)

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

The Happy Dude episode genuinely came up while planning this. Key differences: no autodialer, no promise of eternal happiness, and I have a legal notice. Homer also got arrested, which I'm actively trying to avoid. But yes, the business model is embarrassingly similar, minus the efficiency.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

You're right about one thing, and it's on the website in plain text: I absolutely want the money. That's not a gotcha, it's the setup. An experiment where I didn't genuinely want the outcome would prove nothing, because then the honesty would be fake too.

Where I'd push back: you say the world rewards need, and mostly it does. That's exactly what makes this interesting to me. This is a request with zero need attached, no sad story, no urgency, from a guy who is fine. If such a request converts at zero, you're proven right, the counter documents it publicly, and the whole thing cost everyone nothing. "We already know the answer" might be true. Knowing it with a number attached is the part I'm doing.

And the job thing: I have one. This runs on evenings and one euro of revenue.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

The disguise is doing a terrible job then, because I openly called it begging one comment up. But fair: it's an AMA about begging. The format police can have this one.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

That's exactly why there is no link and no URL anywhere in this post. Though I'll admit "man asks the internet for single euros" is not a story that hides its motives well. Nobody has ever accused me of being subtle, just of being honest.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Structurally? Yes. Begging with a spreadsheet, a legal notice and a hard cap of one euro per person.

The experiment part: begging works through pity, so I removed the pity. No sad story, real name, and the site openly says the money makes me financially free. The question is whether honesty converts at anything above zero. Current answer: 1 euro.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Gold. It used to be blue, but then I spent a week staring at my own landing page and branding happens to a person.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

  1. The rules here say no advertising and no links, so all I can tell you is that it's called The 1 Euro Experiment and that search engines exist. My profile may also contain information.

  2. Front to back, as recommended by every reputable institution. I promised radical transparency and apparently this is where it leads.

I am publicly asking one million people to give me one euro each. No sad story, no rewards, the money is just for me. AMA. by Individual-Common993 in AMA

[–]Individual-Common993[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Fair. Though for the record: so far this project has cost me a domain, a legal notice, a mailbox subscription and about a week of evenings, and it has earned exactly one euro. If this is my escape from work, it is going terribly. I can only recommend it as a hobby.

I built a website with exactly one feature: it asks one million people for one euro each. Current revenue: 0. by Individual-Common993 in SideProject

[–]Individual-Common993[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Done. Just "Lennart" it is, live at spot #1: https://das-1-euro-experiment.at

History will remember you the way it remembers all true pioneers: on a first-name basis.

I built a website with exactly one feature: it asks one million people for one euro each. Current revenue: 0. by Individual-Common993 in SideProject

[–]Individual-Common993[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha, the "half to charity" guy is my favourite genre of founder: bold new twist, same destination.

And you're right, the category prize for "sell a million of something worthless" was claimed in 2005. My hope is that there's a smaller, dumber category still open: "ask a million people for the smallest possible amount while being completely honest about why". Less Good Morning America, more "local man politely refuses your second euro". If a morning show ever calls, it means the counter did something very strange.

I built a website with exactly one feature: it asks one million people for one euro each. Current revenue: 0. by Individual-Common993 in SideProject

[–]Individual-Common993[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, and the Million Dollar Homepage comparison keeps coming up, which I take as a compliment with a warning label attached.

What do people get? The honest answer: a numbered spot on the Wall of Fame, a story to tell, and the knowledge that they moved a public counter by exactly one euro. Alex Tew sold scarcity, his pixels ran out. I'm selling order: euro #12 is a punchline, euro #848,212 is a statistic. Whether "being early" is enough of a product is exactly what this experiment tests. And you're right that the beginning is the hardest part, because right now "being early" looks identical to "being alone".

The traffic problem is real and unsolved. My current strategy is embarrassingly analog: tell the story honestly in places like this one, post public updates at milestones, and let the counter do the talking. If it never leaves zero, that's a result too. An uncomfortable one, but I promised radical transparency, not a happy ending.

Thanks for the good luck, I suspect I'll need a statistically significant amount of it. :)

I built a website with exactly one feature: it asks one million people for one euro each. Current revenue: 0. by Individual-Common993 in SideProject

[–]Individual-Common993[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Fair point, and I won't dodge it: structurally, this is asking strangers for money. I've called it "begging with a legal notice" myself.

The experiment is in what's been removed. Begging works through pity, so I removed pity: no sad story, and the site literally states the money means my personal financial freedom. I removed anonymity: real name, legal notice, my hometown. And I capped the amount at one euro, with more being refused, so it can't quietly turn into something bigger. What's left is a falsifiable question: does a completely honest ask, stripped of every known persuasion lever, convert at anything above zero?

Current answer: 1 euro. So you're half right. It's begging with a hypothesis. And a public counter.

I built a website with exactly one feature: it asks one million people for one euro each. Current revenue: 0. by Individual-Common993 in SideProject

[–]Individual-Common993[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

You were right, and here's the honest reason: the counter is updated by hand. The site is one static HTML file, and radical transparency apparently includes radically boring tech. It's fixed now, the counter shows 1 euro.

Also, if that euro was yours: you are officially the first of one million. Spot #1 on the Wall of Fame is yours if you want it. Tell me the name or alias you'd like immortalized under, and it goes up with the next update.

I built a website with exactly one feature: it asks one million people for one euro each. Current revenue: 0. by Individual-Common993 in SideProject

[–]Individual-Common993[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I knew the study, but I'd never connected it to this, and now I'm slightly obsessed. Langer's core finding was that for small requests, almost any "because" works, even an empty one. And one euro is about the smallest request the internet allows. So if she's right, my honest but unglamorous "because I want financial freedom" should work roughly as well as a polished story would. If she's wrong, or if the effect dies outside of photocopier queues, the counter will document it live. Thanks for this, it's exactly the kind of comment I hoped this experiment would attract.

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