The Revolution Will Not Be Monetized

Gargleblaster, 10 months ago

For those who are unaware, this is an updated version of this.

CynAq, 10 months ago

To the top with you!

RemembertheApollo, 10 months ago

Whoa. Never heard this. Thanks for the link!

mysoulishome, 10 months ago

At some point we’re have to going to figure out how to pay for this but right now the idea that this thing is just growing and growing and no one is profiting is pretty cool. It’s humorous to imagine that someone somewhere IS frustrated that they can’t monetize it 😂

Curious_Canid, 10 months ago

Nicely said!

Waryspice, 10 months ago

This is good. You should put it on a t-shirt and sell it.

Waryspice, 10 months ago

This is good. You should put it in a t-shirt and sell it.

Elevator7009, 10 months ago

Thought you might want to know you commented this twice

NotTheOnlyGamer, 10 months ago

I don't think you're correct in your theory. I fully expect the Fediverse as a whole, with the exception of a few very tiny instances that won't have public signups, will deal with the problems that other social media have in the same way - ads, sponsored posts, monetization of user data, etc.. in the way the Internet accelerates, I expect it to happen within two years.

sacredbirdman, 10 months ago

I don’t think so.. they’d have to make their own version of server software since you can always read the posts from other instances.. also it’d need to be concerted effort because people would migrate from / defederate singlular bad actors.. but !remind me in 2 years.

NotTheOnlyGamer, 10 months ago

I don't think it's going to be "singular bad actors" in this case. I think it's going to be every server owner realizing why the situation became what it is on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit. When operating and development costs stretch beyond the grasp of donations, when the number of users far outstretches the number of donors and customers, server owners will have to seek out ways to monetize users. So, sure, you'll have people who are willing to put in the investment to launch their own server and federate as they see fit, rather than pay for the service. But you'll have a lot more people who are unwilling to pay.

That means ads and paid content. That means login walls and paywalled content, "premium" access and features, etc. I expect that every large Fediverse server will end up that way. Either that or the way they'll stay ad-free is to kick off the users and keep only the paying customers (these people will be called "donors" so they don't expect any benefit for their money). After all, kicking a user out of one instance of the Fediverse doesn't have the impact that it does on Reddit. Heck, kicking a thousand out doesn't. There's every other instance's customers and users still to talk with. There's always the ability for those people to invest in the platform with their own instance, or join one with a smaller number of allowed (non-paying) users.

maynarkh, 10 months ago

Yeah but there is no exclusivity in federation as there may be in users. If every instance sucks, I can run my own.

I can see big instances closing off signups, but there will always be places which run on donations and are small enough to be sustainable.

speck, 10 months ago

This person gets it

PancakeLegend, 10 months ago

I wouldn't mind if the revolution paid me for the content that I produce. Would it be so bad??

buttermilk, 10 months ago

I don't think even the most radical anti-intellectual property folks think that you should get nothing for content that you produce, just that it shouldn't be ad-driven, privacy invading, hellscape that is silicon valley's method. Whether or not a donation driven online content system is sufficient for most is really the question.

HeartyBeast, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago)

I don’t have a problem with instances deciding they want to find themselves via (non-federating) ads. People can decide which instance to use based on their funding model. Adverts don’t intrinsically have to be privacy invading. A company that makes gaming chairs can advertise in a gaming community or on a gaming-focussed instance without invading privacy

INHALE_VEGETABLES, 10 months ago

Yeah so where can i buy front row seats to this thing?

deaconblue, 10 months ago

Wow. Absolutely great work. Thank you