I agree, it’s pretty much a personal energy shield and a way to say I am willing to entertain what others have to say directly to me at this price.

It will block cheap forms of bullying, harassment, spam, etc. but also limit unwanted soliciting, and turn advertising around, etc. Instead of paying Twitter or Facebook to show you an ad, advertisers will pay the users directly, completely disintermediation of centralized social media.

You still get to decide whether you read the notes or not.