Devil's advocate here: Casey I don't think you've spent enough time talking about OnlyFans this past year. Yes, the underlying subject matter might be uncomfortable, but this really has revolutionized the creator platform economy, particularly so during the pandemic. But getting around any queasiness, it underpins so many themes that Platformer is about: the role of the state, a possibly decentralized future, censorship, the technical infrastructure of the technology, and the raw economic power of the platforms themselves. Please run with this!
I totally agree with this! It's tricky, because some people really are uncomfortable reading about porn. (I lost 6 or 7 paid subs yesterday.) But I agree that it really is a story about themes central to Platformer. Which is a long way of saying I'm writing about it again today!
Great to hear! And another piece to consider; do platforms by nature make people uncomfortable? Is there something about a decentralized nature, where the traditional gatekeepers are sidelined, that's unsettling? Very possibly!
Another point, more on the sex thing. Platforms are inherently products of an ecosystem, which up to now has largely been defined by geography. And places that are liberal in their sexual mores are without fail, more adept at producing technology ecosystems than the other way around. Apartheid South Africa did not have a version of Silicon Valley. Neither will a Taliban-run Afghanistan. And there is absolutely no coincidence that the exact piece of real estate that hosts the Folsom Street Fair is in the greatest startup neighborhood of all time.
I'm sure that people much smarter than myself have analyzed all of this in a much more academic fashion. But I basically grew up in SOMA and I've been in tech since the 90s and I can emphatically say that as you start whittling away at the range of human habits that can be discussed, you're going to also do the same with innovation. And I'm very specifically not talking about political censorship; enabling one to facilitate another terrorist attack does not correspond with innovation.
what more folks have to realize is that "sex work" is work...
... it's just not work that you want to do. totally fine. but, the morality issue makes this point really difficult to parse through... which is sad.
but, if someone suddenly ripped out slack (or microsoft teams or some other fundamental business operations software) from your business workflow (meaning slack suddenly told you that you can't use their software b/c... whatever)... you'd be pretty upset! in fact, you'd be raving fucking mad... b/c your bottom-line is hurt b/c you can't communicate to your team or customers or community.
... that's what (sex) workers have struggled with forever... waking up one morning only to realize that a part of their business just disappeared.
... i've been thinking about this space for a while and the solution is decentralization... but not through a platform but rather a host of options for creators. decentralization in both platform and offerings (or workflows) is how you create antifragility. more thoughts here (and my solution): https://john.do/onlyfans-alternative/
porn has always pushed technology boundaries.. we should talk about it more.
Devil's advocate here: Casey I don't think you've spent enough time talking about OnlyFans this past year. Yes, the underlying subject matter might be uncomfortable, but this really has revolutionized the creator platform economy, particularly so during the pandemic. But getting around any queasiness, it underpins so many themes that Platformer is about: the role of the state, a possibly decentralized future, censorship, the technical infrastructure of the technology, and the raw economic power of the platforms themselves. Please run with this!
I totally agree with this! It's tricky, because some people really are uncomfortable reading about porn. (I lost 6 or 7 paid subs yesterday.) But I agree that it really is a story about themes central to Platformer. Which is a long way of saying I'm writing about it again today!
Great to hear! And another piece to consider; do platforms by nature make people uncomfortable? Is there something about a decentralized nature, where the traditional gatekeepers are sidelined, that's unsettling? Very possibly!
Another point, more on the sex thing. Platforms are inherently products of an ecosystem, which up to now has largely been defined by geography. And places that are liberal in their sexual mores are without fail, more adept at producing technology ecosystems than the other way around. Apartheid South Africa did not have a version of Silicon Valley. Neither will a Taliban-run Afghanistan. And there is absolutely no coincidence that the exact piece of real estate that hosts the Folsom Street Fair is in the greatest startup neighborhood of all time.
I'm sure that people much smarter than myself have analyzed all of this in a much more academic fashion. But I basically grew up in SOMA and I've been in tech since the 90s and I can emphatically say that as you start whittling away at the range of human habits that can be discussed, you're going to also do the same with innovation. And I'm very specifically not talking about political censorship; enabling one to facilitate another terrorist attack does not correspond with innovation.
what more folks have to realize is that "sex work" is work...
... it's just not work that you want to do. totally fine. but, the morality issue makes this point really difficult to parse through... which is sad.
but, if someone suddenly ripped out slack (or microsoft teams or some other fundamental business operations software) from your business workflow (meaning slack suddenly told you that you can't use their software b/c... whatever)... you'd be pretty upset! in fact, you'd be raving fucking mad... b/c your bottom-line is hurt b/c you can't communicate to your team or customers or community.
... that's what (sex) workers have struggled with forever... waking up one morning only to realize that a part of their business just disappeared.
...
+1 to this.
... i've been thinking about this space for a while and the solution is decentralization... but not through a platform but rather a host of options for creators. decentralization in both platform and offerings (or workflows) is how you create antifragility. more thoughts here (and my solution): https://john.do/onlyfans-alternative/
porn has always pushed technology boundaries.. we should talk about it more.