4 ms·

My intuition is that it's not possible to have an open platform like substack where the majority are making enough to live off. Imagine that was currently the c

by h4l 3y ago

My intuition is that it's not possible to have an open platform like substack where the majority are making enough to live off. Imagine that was currently the case. People would see the platform as easy money and jump in. The quality of the median writer would drop, as would the median income, until the perception that it was easy money reduced enough to stop people joining.

coffeebeqn 3y ago
There are plenty of markets like that. YouTube and twitch are very popular. It’s just that the top 0.0001% make a good living while the rest don’t make any money
- patmorgan23 3y ago
  I think that percentage is a lot bigger if you only count the people who are posting regularly.
  - sebazzz 3y ago
    Yes, but you're (1) still dependent on "The Algorithm". Popular channel Lesics saw its ads and views disappear overnight with no obvious reason. Hopefully the EU's DMA/DSA legislation will force some transparency there.(2) for most the ads are not enough and true income is made through Memberships and Patreon and swag in a store.
    - johnnyanmac 3y ago
      >for most the ads are not enough and true income is made through Memberships and Patreon and swag in a store. you're close. Ads don't make money, ads do. To clarify: Being sponsored directly by an ad can make you almost as much money as tha ads you get from the Youtube system. So all those RAID SHADOW LEGENDS ads you see from gaming youtubers? Yeah, odds are even the tiny (10k subscriber) channels can make a few hundred off of that pitch. Patreon is decent, but it's another stream of income you need to put work into to really pay off with. Those who treat it as a donation box don't get too much. Swag is really nice but you need a decent following first. You probably already make a decent side hustle from YT ads alone by the time you consider merch.
brightlancer 3y ago
> The quality of the median writer would drop, as would the median income, until the perception that it was easy money reduced enough to stop people joining. Yes, yes, no. Folks' perception of Substack/ Youtube/ Twitch aren't shaped by looking at 100% of the producers, or even 50% of the producers: folks are overwhelmingly focused on the top 10% (and narrower), so their perception is shaped by the disproportionate success of the few. To rephrase, the bottom 50% of the production group do not have 50% of the audience -- they may not even have 5% of the audience. Their lack of success isn't being seen broadly enough to shape folks' perceptions. Also, millions of people buy lottery tickets when only a handful win more than $20.

by h4l 3y ago

coffeebeqn 3y ago

There are plenty of markets like that. YouTube and twitch are very popular. It’s just that the top 0.0001% make a good living while the rest don’t make any money

patmorgan23 3y ago
I think that percentage is a lot bigger if you only count the people who are posting regularly.
- sebazzz 3y ago
  Yes, but you're (1) still dependent on "The Algorithm". Popular channel Lesics saw its ads and views disappear overnight with no obvious reason. Hopefully the EU's DMA/DSA legislation will force some transparency there.(2) for most the ads are not enough and true income is made through Memberships and Patreon and swag in a store.
  - johnnyanmac 3y ago
    >for most the ads are not enough and true income is made through Memberships and Patreon and swag in a store. you're close. Ads don't make money, ads do. To clarify: Being sponsored directly by an ad can make you almost as much money as tha ads you get from the Youtube system. So all those RAID SHADOW LEGENDS ads you see from gaming youtubers? Yeah, odds are even the tiny (10k subscriber) channels can make a few hundred off of that pitch. Patreon is decent, but it's another stream of income you need to put work into to really pay off with. Those who treat it as a donation box don't get too much. Swag is really nice but you need a decent following first. You probably already make a decent side hustle from YT ads alone by the time you consider merch.

brightlancer 3y ago

> The quality of the median writer would drop, as would the median income, until the perception that it was easy money reduced enough to stop people joining. Yes, yes, no. Folks' perception of Substack/ Youtube/ Twitch aren't shaped by looking at 100% of the producers, or even 50% of the producers: folks are overwhelmingly focused on the top 10% (and narrower), so their perception is shaped by the disproportionate success of the few. To rephrase, the bottom 50% of the production group do not have 50% of the audience -- they may not even have 5% of the audience. Their lack of success isn't being seen broadly enough to shape folks' perceptions. Also, millions of people buy lottery tickets when only a handful win more than $20.