pay for digital social spaces

Social media differs from note-taking apps. Users provide content and interaction for free. "Why should I pay when I'm the one creating value?" Fair question.

But maintaining the space where that expression happens costs money. Playing in a park is free. Maintaining the park requires taxes.

To have an impact on the world, a system needs to be deployed and funded. Open sourcing the sewage system won’t flush the toilet. Open sourcing a search engine doesn't create a search competitor.

Of course, money is a transformative incentive. Donating our time and labor for free is a privilege. I’ve watched stipends, contract agreements, or permanent staff roles enable incredible volunteers to go way beyond what they could do without compensation. I also believe expectations themselves require expansion and redefinition outside of the... See more

While Meta’s paid messaging tools brought in about $1 billion last year — peanuts compared to the whopping $132 billion the company earned from ads — paid messaging revenue is growing far faster than ad revenue and has more than doubled since early 2023.

Imagine a geographically-local-oriented digital social space that’s funded by a mix of local city government (tax $$) and local big philanthropy, plus allows for small individual donations too. Like the ‘bricks’ or signage in a local library or museum, the people who contribute would be recognized publicly for their support. The money would go

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I wish more media / subscription products didn’t have auto-renew as an unchangeable default.

Any time I see that - even if it says “cancel at any time” - it deters me from taking action in that moment because I’m worried about forgetting to cancel it later, and then getting charged $19.99 or whatever.

A better approach would be: we’ll charge you $10

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