Naver (035420.KS) is rolling out full monetization support for operators of its flagship community service "Cafe." The move is seen as an effort to incentivize administrators to enhance cafe operations, increase user engagement, and secure high-quality training data for artificial intelligence.
According to IT industry sources on January 1, Naver will launch the "Cafe Biz Center" on February 25, a platform where cafe operators can manage monetization tools and receive earnings settlements. Registration begins February 4, allowing operators to configure revenue settings. After the official launch, operators can check their earnings history, with payments starting in March. Monetization eligibility is limited to cafes rated "Gaji" (eggplant) level or higher, targeting mid-tier and above cafes in the ranking system.
The Biz Center's core features are advertising revenue sharing and safe transaction revenue distribution. Naver will share advertising revenue generated from certain ad placements, including the top of cafe posts, with operators. Additionally, when "safe transactions" are conducted through cafes, operators will receive 1% of the sale amount.
Industry observers expect the tangible incentives for operators to improve cafe management quality. With stronger motivation to operate, systematic management of low-quality posts and spam, along with organizational improvements, should lead to accumulation of trustworthy content and increases in both user numbers and time spent on the platform, analysts say. High-quality content will also appear in Naver's core search service, boosting its competitiveness. With AI-generated low-quality content known as "slop" recently undermining trust in online communities, strengthened operator-centered management could become a differentiating factor, some observers note. Transactions through cafes are also expected to increase. "We plan to continue developing and adding monetization tools to revitalize cafes," Naver said.
Synergies in the digital economy are also anticipated. As safe transactions grow, Naver Pay usage could increase. The initiative could also serve as a foundation for "real-world asset tokenization" (RWA) expected to be pursued following the merger with Dunamu.
Similar trends are emerging among competing services. Danggeun, which launched its interest-based online community cafe service on January 22, is also running promotions offering operators up to 200,000 won per month to encourage community activation. Daum, a portal site operated by Kakao (035720.KS) subsidiary AXZ, also started a revenue-sharing program in July 2023.
Activating community services can expand the data foundation available for strengthening AI service competitiveness. Naver launched the open beta of "Thingsbook," a user-generated content platform targeting the North American market, on January 26, and introduced "Lounge," a content media platform for free communication on various topics, on January 28. "There is a strong possibility that high-quality content produced by users will be utilized as AI data to continue advancing AI capabilities," an industry official said.