When we think about a world where everyone is connected, where everything is a node on the network, where every node can publish and subscribe, we can understand the need for the stream/filter/drain architecture.

The shift away from traditional subscriptions will quicken pace, driven by the proliferation of on-demand solutions across all areas of modern life. Categories like content consumption (Netflix, Spotify), Travel (Uber, Lime), and food delivery (Deliveroo, DoorDash) are creating an atmosphere on everything on our terms, at all times. These category-... See more

Consumption driver: a feature that serves up ready-made content to the user (e.g. a newsfeed or digest email)Verbs: the core actions you want the reader to take when consuming content (e.g. like, upvote, downvote, share, retweet, comment, etc)Personalization: data infrastructure and product features that “push” new content to the user (Youtube, Ins... See more

In the stream metaphor you don’t experience the Stream by walking around it and looking at it, or following it to its end. You jump in and let it flow past. You feel the force of it hit you as things float by. It’s not that you are passive in the Stream. You can be active. But your actions in there — your blog posts, @ mentions, forum comments — ex... See more

Transactional businesses are good. Subscriptions are a recurring revenue stream where users decide that they want your product—in this case, content—and then continue to pay for it so long as the content is providing them with the information and/or entertainment that they want.

As modern consumer behaviour evolves, more and more solutions across their lifestyles are on-demand and flexible. Committing to a recurring purchase of a product that may not even work for you is starting to feel a little tired.

A long-term data store for events could work...