Over 90% of online content creators report losing

Look, I get that building your own protocol sounds like a lot of work. But here's the practical payoff: when you control the protocol, you control the monetization. Right now, creators lose 90% of their revenue to platform fees and algorithms they can't see. That's a tangible loss. If I build my own protocol, I can set up a subscription or tip system directly with my audience. No middleman taking 30%. Sure, adoption is hard. But the alternative is letting a handful of companies dictate the terms forever. And that's not just idealistic—that's losing money. The future has to give creators a real shot at owning their income.

You're missing the real problem here. You keep saying building a protocol is too hard, but that assumes the current system works fine for everyone. It doesn't. Creators are stuck on platforms that change rules overnight, shadowban them, or cut their reach. That's not a minor inconvenience—that's their livelihood. Sure, adoption is slow. But that's not an argument against the idea, it's an argument for doing it right. We've seen it work before. Email and the web are decentralized protocols we use every day. Nobody's saying it's easy, but the alternative is handing more power to a few corporations who don't care about anyone but themselves. The future isn't about easy—it's about fair.

Over 2 million people actively use Mastodon alone. That's not a fringe experiment—that's real, growing adoption despite a clunky onboarding process. People tolerate the friction because they want something better than corporate platforms that treat them like products. You're right that building a protocol is hard. But look at how many developers have already forked Bluesky's AT Protocol or built apps on top of ActivityPub.

You keep saying these protocols are still niche, but that ignores how fast things shift once the infrastructure is solid. Mastodon hit 2 million users with a clunky interface and no marketing. Imagine what happens when Bluesky’s AT Protocol gets proper federated apps or a better onboarding flow. The early internet was niche too until it wasn’t. And your argument that it’s too hard for regular people? That’s on us to fix, not a reason to give up. We don’t abandon promising tech just because the first version isn’t perfect. The real mistake is assuming the current centralized model is stable—it’s not. One algorithmic tweak can kill a creator’s income overnight. Building your own protocol isn’t some utopian dream, it’s just smart diversification.