What obligation do #platformcoops have to operate at the same scale as or even outperform their venture capital funded corporate counterparts? If a #platformcoop does not succeed in having a similar reach as major corporations with comparable features, should it be considered "low quality" or are there other standards of success worth considering?
For example, if it is considered "failing" to not ever grow to be as big as #Bandcamp or #Patreon, why is that? Are platform coops being held to a different standard than other types of coops?
the trick is people value simplicity. platform coops promise to be that one place for that type of thing that the dominant corporation provides, but without the evil. if they don't achieve ubiquity, the value to us is severely limited.
if I want to download #ccmusic, I look for the musician on Bandcamp. if I want to give a podcaster or writer ongoing support, I hope they use Patreon. I don't want to manage multiple accounts either. my dream is decentralized solutions for both.
@wjmaggos Thanks for sharing. These are super valid points, though not all platform coops are asserting they are THE sole replacement for their dominant corporate counterpart. Do you think platform coops need to do so?
"need to do so" in order to do what? I hope they can be a sustainable business no matter what but from an outsider perspective, I want them to win to help fix the economy for average people. to give less power to the very wealthy. to make our lives in the market feel more human. they have to be big to do much of that I fear.
How exactly do you define decentralised solutions though?
Aren't coops like #JamCoop and @mirlo, or #SelfHosted sites just that? (Admittedly without federation)
#DIY, #artisanal, #coop and #OpenSource solutions usually won't be able to compete with big businesses when it comes to price and/or convenience, just like your community supported farm can't compete with Aldi.
It's really down to you as consumer to decide what is more important to you, convenience or doing what's right.
every band (or maybe label) having their own site that is also part of a decentralized network that lets the listener use something like Spotify to listen to any music and give them money at the end of the month based on percentage listened to during that time is what I dream of.
I think we can beat the big guys when we build systems that work better cause they don't care about the corporation and cheaper by squeezing out the profit for billionaires.
#Funkwhale does the streaming but they are designed around users hosting their own music, much more so than musicians. it's just very confusing design imo.
the payments need to be addressed by something like a new open protocol ala the @w3c.
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