Why haven't we figured out monetisation for peertube? (programming.dev)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by onlinepersona@programming.dev to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

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The only real attempt at monetisation that I've seen is https://beetoons.tv/, but they use their own crypto - making it like Odysee. Why is that?

Edit: Please, before you answer consider this monetisation doesn't mean ads!

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[-] rglullis@communick.news 58 points 4 months ago

A few reasons:

The userbase on the Fediverse is not big enough to support a donation-based economy.
The userbase on the Fediverse is not big enough to support an ad-based economy. Even if by some magical powers we got an ethical ad network working here (which didn't track users and focused solely on paying people by the opportunity of broadcasting their inventory) there wouldn't be enough eyeballs to attract advertisers.
The userbase is still anti-business.
For all its faults, Youtube is hands-down is the platform that pay the most to content creators.
Content creators are not willing to spend their time building out audiences on new platforms. Principles be damned, they will just go where the money is.

I've added support for crowdfunding to Communick earlier this year, and even people who are active on the Fediverse and have a vested interest in having monetization alternatives turned it down. This is why all we see are these completely fringe ideas that can only appeal for the get-rich-quick crowd.

[-] halm@leminal.space 17 points 4 months ago

The userbase is still anti-business.

And a significant part will remain so. This should be a haven from capitalist/corporate platforms, not a parallel market.

[-] rglullis@communick.news 22 points 4 months ago

Community is not enough

I'm still doggedly working on Communick and on AP-based projects because I believe in open standards and because it is our best shot at us collectively take back the web. But if we continue on this idea that the Fediverse is somehow "better" because it discriminates against small business owners, or professionals who want an online presence to promote their work, or anything that resembles "profit-motive", then this whole thing will forever remain a wasted opportunity, and we will be (once again) be giving it all away for Zuckerberg.

What we have now is just a Tyranny of the Minority. We need to grow the open web. That includes getting normies here. That includes getting people who are not part of your tribe. This includes getting people that you are able to ignore.