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Föderation EN Di 04.03.2025 15:22:39 I'm sad to hear about IFTAS shutting down due to lack of funding. But, there is hope. I'm working on similar services for Pixelfed, Loops and Sup. FediThreat and FediDB will offer these essential services to other platforms too, and we're working on a long term plan for sustainable funding. Think in-app purchases, donations and grants. I'm almost as good at fundraising as I am good at coding. You love to see it though, giving back to the community when we thrive makes us that different. ❤️ |
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Föderation EN Di 04.03.2025 15:58:06
I'm not sure how sustainable those are really. Cohost tried a similar model (accepting donations via "premium" subscriptions, or whatever it was called) and it wasn't enough to keep them afloat, even with their mystery infinite-money backer(s). I thought it was fairly established by now that it's basically impossible to even break even by running a social media platform. I think mastodon only does it by the skin of their teeth and the ongoing goodwill of backers 🤔 |
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Föderation EN Di 04.03.2025 16:02:40 @dumpsterqueer well yeah, you raised a great point, I'm trying to reduce all costs and gain as much funding and sponsorships that I can to help make this sustainable. One idea I had that really inspired me was Whatsapp, charging $1 a year for every user, if we could do that but like $5/year optionally for a badge, that could really help. It requires a non-profit org first and taxes and all that jazz, but I do think if we make it easy for people to donate, they will. |
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Föderation EN Di 04.03.2025 16:15:47 @dansup they might yeah... lots of people on Cohost also donated a lot of money, with some people buying multiple subscriptions just to help out. But if you're looking at also operating some kind of forum for mods like IFTAS did, and curating block lists, writing tooling that webhooks can call, and all that stuff, you're probably looking at having to hire someone for that, and that's a whole different kettle of fish than paying hosting costs :P Even mastodon only has (I think?) like one or two full time employees, and they've been extraordinarily lucky when it comes to attracting donations and patreon subscribers etc. I don't mean to burst your bubble but I do think you might be overpromising somewhat here. |
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Föderation EN Di 04.03.2025 17:12:08 @dumpsterqueer I've eliminated almost all costs so far, and will be able to stretch our operational budget so far because I'm able to contribute a vast majority of everything. Why pay someone to handle marketing when you can do it yourself? We also don't need a huge team to manage such a large footprint, because we are that efficent. It's not fair to compare me to Mastodon or Cohost, because they are several people doing specific things. Me: Design, Backend, Frontend, App Dev, Marketing. |
