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I see no way to setup my own video channel, and so this site is useless. I'd love to find a way off YT, and this is (apparently) not the way forward. But nice t

I see no way to setup my own video channel, and so this site is useless. I'd love to find a way off YT, and this is (apparently) not the way forward. But nice try I guess, I don't have any other remarks really, because honestly I'm not at all interested in starting multiple subscriptions at $5 a months for these two-bit channels. $1 per channel is a massive flex, but $5 is like some fantasy world flex.

parasense 7y ago
To be clear, at $5 per channel that is like saying the channel is half as valuable as Netflix, which is simply not possible. That said, we get it... not everyone has the scale to race to the bottom like Netflix, but that's the situation just the same.
- kllrnohj 7y ago
  I watch more LTT than I do Netflix. It's more relevant to my hobbies and, critically, Netflix has lost a ton of content over the years. As a different comparison point, HBO NOW is $15/month and that gets you a very small amount of content.
- asdasdasdasdwd 7y ago
  I'd pay $5 for access to a number of channels, say 10, and then they distribute their earnings depending on the time I spent on each channel.
  - kwizzt 7y ago
    That sounds like the idea behind Brave and BAT. But instead of crypto, you use US dollars, which I guess might work better.
  - Mirioron 7y ago
    This is literally what YouTube Red (membership) is.
    - Dylan16807 7y ago
      Youtube Red does not distribute each subscriber's payment over the channels they watch. Every viewer-minute is the same, no matter if you spent 10 minutes or 5000 minutes on youtube that month. If you watch a single channel, but only for 50 minutes, that channel gets about five cents.
- authoritarian 7y ago
  The Netflix library is awful, and continues to get worse and more limited. There are multiple channels I follow that I get more watch time and utility out of than Netflix
  - vorticalbox 7y ago
    I feel the problem with Netflix is the se as what happened to cable TV. Rather than paying a fee to Netflix let's just make our own and what you end up with is 100s of providers that have 1 or 2 things you actually want to watch.
- bonestamp2 7y ago
  > at $5 per channel that is like saying the channel is half as valuable as Netflix, which is simply not possible I can understand how you might look at it that way, but I guess it depends on how you define value. To an investor, no of course not... one youtube channel could never have the same asset value as half of the content on netflix. But, if you're talking about personal value, emotional value, qualitative value, I don't think you can speak in terms of asset value. A super fan doesn't care how much the content cost to produce or the variety of that content, in fact they want more of that one type of content than anything else. Most people have something they are irrational fanatical about and would pay more than $5/month to consume/learn/see everything about that thing. It's about a feeling and that feeling is often worth more than $5/month. That also doesn't include content that has real monetary value to consumers. For example, there is one stock related youtube channel I follow that charges $8/month for access to their private stock picks, analysis, etc. If that helps someone generate a 1% gain in their portfolio growth then that could very well be worth more than the content on netflix to that one consumer since the content on Netflix costs them more than it makes them. So, I think it's fair to say that someone may like one show or creator half as much as they like the content on Netflix even though the asset value could never compare.
- cicero 7y ago
  I support 4 different individual content creators through Patreon or their own platform at levels between $5 and $10 per month. What they produce is informative, unique, and much more important to me than anything on Netflix, which is just entertainment. Unfortunately, I don't think Patreon is a very good content delivery platform, so I hope Floatplane takes off and has a better UX.
asdasdasdasdwd 7y ago
There's a "Become creator" button at the bottom that leads you to this page: https://www.floatplane.com/support#join-as-pilot https://www.floatplane.com/support#join-as-pilot The site seems to be at a beta stage at the moment and they are probably letting creators in very slowly so I would hold off if your intention is to completely replace YouTube.
- agilebyte 7y ago
  It is in beta stage right now. On Friday they launched a "Beta Squadron" T-Shirt over at LTT Store (https://www.lttstore.com/ https://www.lttstore.com/) to go with it.
- stanmancan 7y ago
  They released a video today stating that the point of Floatplane is -not- to replace YT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOOfZWXPu4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOOfZWXPu4
Ahwleung 7y ago
You must not be familiar with the streaming/twitch community. Even modestly popular streamers/youtubers are easily able to acquire hundreds if not thousands of $5/month subscriptions. YouTube itself offers $5/month "Channel Subscriptions" that give you access to exclusive content (of a single creator), which is exactly this product. Plenty of people like individual creators enough to throw $5 their way for ad-free higher quality videos and "behind the scenes" content. It's not meant for random individuals to post their cat videos and make a quick buck, it's a monetization option for popular people/communities that gives them more revenue streams, which is great if it gets them out of the fist of Google/Amazon. Having 80% of your revenue tied to a mega-corp's ad rate is a big incentive to diversify...
- oehpr 7y ago
  The reason that works is that the people actively streaming are sitting right there, in front of you, interacting with you.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
  > Even modestly popular streamers/youtubers are easily able to acquire hundreds if not thousands of $5/month subscriptions. I can't find any statistics for twitch subs easily, but it seems like "modestly popular" in your view equates to a very tiny percentage of streamers.
  - Ahwleung 7y ago
    SocialBlade is a decent place to start for engagement numbers, and yes it absolutely is a very tiny percentage of YouTubers/steamers. But the business model is there - upload your videos, maybe do some "extra content" a la patreon, and get a diversified revenue stream as well as a platform to post your non-advertiser friendly content. They also aren't running through any cloud providers (although they are using a few CDNs), competition in the video space is always good. One thing not being mentioned much in the comments are the nuances of a subscription-only model. People who don't like the content will simply never see it, they've stated themselves that as long as it's not explicitly illegal (child pornography, weapons manufacturing, etc) they'll allow any creator onto the platform. Although we have yet to see it tested, what happens when a publicly loathed far-right community sets up shop there...
CivBase 7y ago
> I see no way to setup my own video channel, and so this site is useless. It's useless to you, yes. Floatplane is a way for established video creators to acquire a more stable revenue stream and for viewers to support their preferred video creators without being subject to ads. It's not a place for creators to find a new audience. It's not a place for new creators to build an audience. It's basically a replacement for Vessel - more like an alternative to Patreon than YouTube. > I'm not at all interested in starting multiple subscriptions at $5 a months for these two-bit channels. $1 per channel is a massive flex, but $5 is like some fantasy world flex. Correct. Floatplane gives users an option to pay for a premium viewing experience (better video quality, cleaner UI, better comments) while supporting their favorite creators. However, it's not an alternative to YouTube. Video creators can (and should) still use other platforms like YouTube to sustain and expand their audience.

parasense 7y ago

To be clear, at $5 per channel that is like saying the channel is half as valuable as Netflix, which is simply not possible. That said, we get it... not everyone has the scale to race to the bottom like Netflix, but that's the situation just the same.

kllrnohj 7y ago
I watch more LTT than I do Netflix. It's more relevant to my hobbies and, critically, Netflix has lost a ton of content over the years. As a different comparison point, HBO NOW is $15/month and that gets you a very small amount of content.
asdasdasdasdwd 7y ago
I'd pay $5 for access to a number of channels, say 10, and then they distribute their earnings depending on the time I spent on each channel.
- kwizzt 7y ago
  That sounds like the idea behind Brave and BAT. But instead of crypto, you use US dollars, which I guess might work better.
- Mirioron 7y ago
  This is literally what YouTube Red (membership) is.
  - Dylan16807 7y ago
    Youtube Red does not distribute each subscriber's payment over the channels they watch. Every viewer-minute is the same, no matter if you spent 10 minutes or 5000 minutes on youtube that month. If you watch a single channel, but only for 50 minutes, that channel gets about five cents.
authoritarian 7y ago
The Netflix library is awful, and continues to get worse and more limited. There are multiple channels I follow that I get more watch time and utility out of than Netflix
- vorticalbox 7y ago
  I feel the problem with Netflix is the se as what happened to cable TV. Rather than paying a fee to Netflix let's just make our own and what you end up with is 100s of providers that have 1 or 2 things you actually want to watch.
bonestamp2 7y ago
> at $5 per channel that is like saying the channel is half as valuable as Netflix, which is simply not possible I can understand how you might look at it that way, but I guess it depends on how you define value. To an investor, no of course not... one youtube channel could never have the same asset value as half of the content on netflix. But, if you're talking about personal value, emotional value, qualitative value, I don't think you can speak in terms of asset value. A super fan doesn't care how much the content cost to produce or the variety of that content, in fact they want more of that one type of content than anything else. Most people have something they are irrational fanatical about and would pay more than $5/month to consume/learn/see everything about that thing. It's about a feeling and that feeling is often worth more than $5/month. That also doesn't include content that has real monetary value to consumers. For example, there is one stock related youtube channel I follow that charges $8/month for access to their private stock picks, analysis, etc. If that helps someone generate a 1% gain in their portfolio growth then that could very well be worth more than the content on netflix to that one consumer since the content on Netflix costs them more than it makes them. So, I think it's fair to say that someone may like one show or creator half as much as they like the content on Netflix even though the asset value could never compare.
cicero 7y ago
I support 4 different individual content creators through Patreon or their own platform at levels between $5 and $10 per month. What they produce is informative, unique, and much more important to me than anything on Netflix, which is just entertainment. Unfortunately, I don't think Patreon is a very good content delivery platform, so I hope Floatplane takes off and has a better UX.

asdasdasdasdwd 7y ago

There's a "Become creator" button at the bottom that leads you to this page: https://www.floatplane.com/support#join-as-pilot https://www.floatplane.com/support#join-as-pilot The site seems to be at a beta stage at the moment and they are probably letting creators in very slowly so I would hold off if your intention is to completely replace YouTube.

agilebyte 7y ago
It is in beta stage right now. On Friday they launched a "Beta Squadron" T-Shirt over at LTT Store (https://www.lttstore.com/ https://www.lttstore.com/) to go with it.
stanmancan 7y ago
They released a video today stating that the point of Floatplane is -not- to replace YT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOOfZWXPu4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOOOfZWXPu4

Ahwleung 7y ago

You must not be familiar with the streaming/twitch community. Even modestly popular streamers/youtubers are easily able to acquire hundreds if not thousands of $5/month subscriptions. YouTube itself offers $5/month "Channel Subscriptions" that give you access to exclusive content (of a single creator), which is exactly this product. Plenty of people like individual creators enough to throw $5 their way for ad-free higher quality videos and "behind the scenes" content. It's not meant for random individuals to post their cat videos and make a quick buck, it's a monetization option for popular people/communities that gives them more revenue streams, which is great if it gets them out of the fist of Google/Amazon. Having 80% of your revenue tied to a mega-corp's ad rate is a big incentive to diversify...

oehpr 7y ago
The reason that works is that the people actively streaming are sitting right there, in front of you, interacting with you.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 7y ago
> Even modestly popular streamers/youtubers are easily able to acquire hundreds if not thousands of $5/month subscriptions. I can't find any statistics for twitch subs easily, but it seems like "modestly popular" in your view equates to a very tiny percentage of streamers.
- Ahwleung 7y ago
  SocialBlade is a decent place to start for engagement numbers, and yes it absolutely is a very tiny percentage of YouTubers/steamers. But the business model is there - upload your videos, maybe do some "extra content" a la patreon, and get a diversified revenue stream as well as a platform to post your non-advertiser friendly content. They also aren't running through any cloud providers (although they are using a few CDNs), competition in the video space is always good. One thing not being mentioned much in the comments are the nuances of a subscription-only model. People who don't like the content will simply never see it, they've stated themselves that as long as it's not explicitly illegal (child pornography, weapons manufacturing, etc) they'll allow any creator onto the platform. Although we have yet to see it tested, what happens when a publicly loathed far-right community sets up shop there...

CivBase 7y ago

> I see no way to setup my own video channel, and so this site is useless. It's useless to you, yes. Floatplane is a way for established video creators to acquire a more stable revenue stream and for viewers to support their preferred video creators without being subject to ads. It's not a place for creators to find a new audience. It's not a place for new creators to build an audience. It's basically a replacement for Vessel - more like an alternative to Patreon than YouTube. > I'm not at all interested in starting multiple subscriptions at $5 a months for these two-bit channels. $1 per channel is a massive flex, but $5 is like some fantasy world flex. Correct. Floatplane gives users an option to pay for a premium viewing experience (better video quality, cleaner UI, better comments) while supporting their favorite creators. However, it's not an alternative to YouTube. Video creators can (and should) still use other platforms like YouTube to sustain and expand their audience.