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Fork of Chiri for Astro for my blog
1---
2title: Patreon Belongs in the Fediverse
3pubDate: 2024-06-03T20:31:55.000Z
4tags: patreon, threads, activitypub, fediverse, social media, creator economy
5description: Patreon needs to become Threads before Threads become Patreon.
6---
7
8There's a famous quote by Reed Hastings, former CEO of Netflix, that always sticks with me:
9
10> “The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.”
11
12This quote lives in my head rent-free because I think every startup that's a few steps ahead of its behemoth competitor needs to think like this.
13
14Patreon is one such startup and I hope that they're paying attention to what Meta is planning on doing with Threads.
15
16## Instagram in the Fediverse
17
18In [a conversation with Mike McCue](https://dot-social.simplecast.com/episodes/threads) - CEO of Flipboard and host of the Dot Social podcast - and Rachel Lambert and Peter Cottle of Meta's Threads team, it's clear that Threads doesn't plan on being just another simple node in the Fediverse:
19
20> "You could imagine extensions to the protocol eventually saying, like, I want to support micro payments, or [...] feel free to show me ads, if that supports you" - Peter Cottle
21
22In other words, Threads likely wants to be a monetization center for online creators and eventually compete with Patreon.
23
24What makes this more interesting is that Instagram creators can now [cross-post their content](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-tests-instagram-threads-cross-posting/715466/) from their grid (images, carousels, and reels) directly to their Threads account. For those users, Threads will be a portal to the Fediverse for their Instagram account. If Meta turns on subscriptions, Instagram creators will not only be able to get paid for what they share on Instagram, but across the whole Fediverse as well.
25
26Instagram will turn into Patreon overnight while tapping into the [endless supply of network effects](https://augment.ink/social-siloes-post/) on the social web.
27
28Meta isn't taking this lightly either - they're committed to bringing Instagram users to Threads. They're [literally paying them](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/threads-offers-creators-500-to-post-about-positivity) to use the new platform and to bring their followers over with them.
29
30Why would a creator send their audience to a third-party platform when Instagram and Threads can be a one-stop-shop with their existing followers while having access to new paid subscribers across the social web?
31
32Patreon can no longer just be the place where creators are paid, it needs to be a place where creators can be discovered. And it cannot do that as a [social silo](https://augment.ink/social-siloes-post/).
33
34## Your Move, Patreon
35
36Instagram isn't the only platform that's going to bring subscriptions to the Fediverse. [Ghost is extending their platform](https://augment.ink/ghost-substack-discoverability/) in a way that equalizes email and ActivityPub subscribers. [ButtonDown](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/buttondown_building-activitypub-activity-7188177990365712385-MfXO/) is doing the same.
37
38Users in the Fediverse are taking things into their own hands as well. Evan Prodromou, co-author of the ActivityPub spec, has [a separate Mastodon account](https://prodromou.pub/@evanplus) that requires a $5/month PayPal subscription to gain access to its posts.
39
40Go type "patreon fediverse" into a search engine of your choice and you'll find no shortage of users asking for a way to get paid subscribers on a Fediverse account. I'm sure there's a whole host of solo developers working on competitors as we speak.
41
42It's clear a Patreon solution is something the social web needs. The question is: will Patreon be that solution?