Social Platform Ownership & Governance

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.

I’ve noticed a trend in the fediverse of thinking there’s nothing except open source and VC-backed companies. But there is so much in between. I love small, bootstrapped companies that just charge a fair price to users without outside funding or ads.

Some of my favorite apps and services are like that. Acorn, MarsEdit, Nova, Feedbin, Day One. You... See more

Part of what prevents people from starting their own software company is the pervasiveness of a singular popular narrative: the idea that money is the primary reason to do so. That the way to make software profitable is to scale, and the way to scale is to get investment from VCs. Software, for better or for worse, plays an increasingly primary... See more