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Perhaps obvious, but it strikes me that dollowers (dollar-weighted followers) are an important part of the future.
Platforms like Substack, Patreon, Ghost, Locals allow writers to optimize their dollowers. Dollowing is a scarce and directly valuable behavior, unlike following.
Platforms like Substack, Patreon, Ghost, Locals allow writers to optimize their dollowers. Dollowing is a scarce and directly valuable behavior, unlike following.
There are subscribers (who are typically paid and quiet) and followers (who are unpaid commenters), but dollowers are paid and highly engaged.
And they typically support individuals rather than institutions.
And they typically support individuals rather than institutions.
In the battle of ideas, dollowing is probably more important than most things you can do online.
We should compile lists of intellectuals like SSC that deserve support, and organize mass buycotts of those creators. Meaning that everyone in a community supports those creators.
We should compile lists of intellectuals like SSC that deserve support, and organize mass buycotts of those creators. Meaning that everyone in a community supports those creators.
Yes, this is the rebundling phase.
But it’s distinct from local newspapers in that communities would cluster by ideology rather than geography. And accountability would be at individual level, with “papers” as highly dynamic, configurable bundles.
A layer on top of Substack?
But it’s distinct from local newspapers in that communities would cluster by ideology rather than geography. And accountability would be at individual level, with “papers” as highly dynamic, configurable bundles.
A layer on top of Substack?
Crypto payments would be important here to protect everyone’s privacy, to prove that someone was actually a supporter, to allow for easy support across borders, and (eventually) to allow creators to cite on-chain events as a way of proving timestamps or preventing deletion.
A relatively small community of 10000 committed folks allocating $1000 per year could support 100 individual creators at $100k/year.
Virtue signaling would in part become value signaling. Eg: how much have you done to support creators in our community? And what have you created?
Virtue signaling would in part become value signaling. Eg: how much have you done to support creators in our community? And what have you created?
Now, $1000/year is not trivial, so some might have to do $100 or even $10. But it’s within reach of many people, especially if they truly believe in something.
It gives people who want to do something a concrete *something* to do. Either fund or create, either dollow or build.
It gives people who want to do something a concrete *something* to do. Either fund or create, either dollow or build.
Importantly, you could also put open source software and art under the same umbrella as writing. Github bounties, Patreon, Substack.
So you have a community of engineers, artists, writers all working towards a common goal, and all supported by a base of highly engaged dollowers.
So you have a community of engineers, artists, writers all working towards a common goal, and all supported by a base of highly engaged dollowers.
