This article is very anecdotal and it doesn’t talk about the underlying reasons for why niche communities are making a big comeback. It mentions that Patreon h

This article is very anecdotal and it doesn’t talk about the underlying reasons for why niche communities are making a big comeback. It mentions that Patreon has risen in popularity but doesn’t talk about the YouTube adpoocalypse or the reasons why that occurred. The adpocalypse and it’s impact on everything from news commentary to comedy channels is one of the biggest factors driving creators and hence users onto YouTube alternatives. It doesn’t talk about said Youtube alternatives such as minds, steemit etc or why vidme shut down. It doesn’t talk about their differences or why one is better than the other. It doesn’t talk about the economics of video hosting or how sustainable these platforms are. It mentions the alt right but it doesn’t talk about twitter giving tons of those guys the boot or the rise of gab. It mentions the alt right & Patreon but it doesn’t talk about how many of those people and other right wingers got booted off of that platform. It doesn’t talk about the cottage industry of Patreon alternatives that sprung up to cater to those people. It also doesn’t mention mastodon or anything that’s going on with similar technologies. It doesn’t mention why mastodon got big in Japan or talk about any similar niche services. It also doesn’t talk about the possibility of advertising on twitter/Facebook/google being regulated by the USA/EU. It doesn’t talk about the testimony all three companies gave in front of congress nor its implications for the future of niche communities. In summary this article provides neither a survey of the niche community landscape nor an explanation for why 2017 was the year niche communities made a comeback.