I've been adding most of the videos that I watch to the FediverseTV playlist, I think a lot about how Google has a rich history of the videos that I watch Yet, often people I know have never heard of any of it.
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@dobetterinstitute @futurebird I totally agree. But I don't like nebula. And having a bunch of different subscriptions to substack, pagreon, kofi etc I also don't like.
So I have started working on @fedipay fedipay.net
An open source, decentralised creator reward system so I can pay creators my way, with simple transactions ixeally eventually too@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
How will the payments work?
I've found that when it comes to getting cash to people there is a lot of variation on what will work for THEM. "creators" the kind I want to support are generally very broke and can't easily decide how they want to interact with monetary systems.
Sometimes that means a big company like paypal other times it means using the post.
Mailing cash is bad, but it's often been the best solution.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
How will the payments work?
I've found that when it comes to getting cash to people there is a lot of variation on what will work for THEM. "creators" the kind I want to support are generally very broke and can't easily decide how they want to interact with monetary systems.
Sometimes that means a big company like paypal other times it means using the post.
Mailing cash is bad, but it's often been the best solution.
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay mailing cash! Crazy.
In Australia and Europe banking is easy. But the idea is a creator/contributor creates an account on a fedipay server.
They put their chosen way to receive payment there.
Eventually the servers will communicate with each other to settle up, and any remaining funds are transferred back out to their final place.
For now I am just building the actual server and extension for tracking (that you own and control) -
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay mailing cash! Crazy.
In Australia and Europe banking is easy. But the idea is a creator/contributor creates an account on a fedipay server.
They put their chosen way to receive payment there.
Eventually the servers will communicate with each other to settle up, and any remaining funds are transferred back out to their final place.
For now I am just building the actual server and extension for tracking (that you own and control)@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Options:
*use paypal and my $20 donation ends up being about $14 by the time the fees are done on all sides.
* mail cash and risk it all getting stolen OR they get the whole $20 bucks they can spend right away.The downside is I can only do this with people who trust me with their address. But that's also an upside in a way.
Mailing cash was good enough for my mom when she was worried about me LOL. Why not?
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Options:
*use paypal and my $20 donation ends up being about $14 by the time the fees are done on all sides.
* mail cash and risk it all getting stolen OR they get the whole $20 bucks they can spend right away.The downside is I can only do this with people who trust me with their address. But that's also an upside in a way.
Mailing cash was good enough for my mom when she was worried about me LOL. Why not?
@futurebird @craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Mailing cash is less feasible if you want to support someone in a country that doesn't use the same currency as the country you live in.
I still have a 5 USD bill someone sent me a decade ago... -
@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
How will the payments work?
I've found that when it comes to getting cash to people there is a lot of variation on what will work for THEM. "creators" the kind I want to support are generally very broke and can't easily decide how they want to interact with monetary systems.
Sometimes that means a big company like paypal other times it means using the post.
Mailing cash is bad, but it's often been the best solution.
@futurebird @craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Loose cash can be extracted from envelopes without opening them by rolling bills w/a pair of small knitting needles and sliding them out. Wrapping cash in a piece of paper … -
I promise if you watch a lot of youTube this is dead simple and easy.
If you don't watch a lot of youTube? Honestly good for you. But what do you watch?
If you watch videos most of the time it's:
@futurebird Lately mostly YouTube. Before that, mostly DVDs.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Options:
*use paypal and my $20 donation ends up being about $14 by the time the fees are done on all sides.
* mail cash and risk it all getting stolen OR they get the whole $20 bucks they can spend right away.The downside is I can only do this with people who trust me with their address. But that's also an upside in a way.
Mailing cash was good enough for my mom when she was worried about me LOL. Why not?
@craiglambie42 @futurebird @fedipay @dobetterinstitute We’ve had cash go missing in the mail a number of times this year. It used to work pretty reliably for grandkids birthdays.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Options:
*use paypal and my $20 donation ends up being about $14 by the time the fees are done on all sides.
* mail cash and risk it all getting stolen OR they get the whole $20 bucks they can spend right away.The downside is I can only do this with people who trust me with their address. But that's also an upside in a way.
Mailing cash was good enough for my mom when she was worried about me LOL. Why not?
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay hard and expensive to send cash $1 to an eastern european, $1 to a canadian and $1 to a vietnamese guy....
But what if I sent $10 to fedipay.
and 100 other people did (1000).
Then fedipay worked out that the server in eastern europe needs ~333 and canada needs ~334 and vietnamese server needs ~333
Then the local server admin could use the local bank to send $1 to by bank transfer to the local developer - etc. -
@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
Options:
*use paypal and my $20 donation ends up being about $14 by the time the fees are done on all sides.
* mail cash and risk it all getting stolen OR they get the whole $20 bucks they can spend right away.The downside is I can only do this with people who trust me with their address. But that's also an upside in a way.
Mailing cash was good enough for my mom when she was worried about me LOL. Why not?
@futurebird @craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay This might be of interest, a platform for creators with built-in payments, direct to the creators:
What is Free2Z? | Free2Z
Free2Z is a revolutionary platform designed to empower you and your community. With peer-to-peer donations, a revenue sharing program, and advanced creative tools, we enable you to monetize your work transparently and fairly. On Free2Z, you're not just another user — you're a partner in a collaborative and rewarding ecosystem.
(free2z.com)
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@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay hard and expensive to send cash $1 to an eastern european, $1 to a canadian and $1 to a vietnamese guy....
But what if I sent $10 to fedipay.
and 100 other people did (1000).
Then fedipay worked out that the server in eastern europe needs ~333 and canada needs ~334 and vietnamese server needs ~333
Then the local server admin could use the local bank to send $1 to by bank transfer to the local developer - etc.@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think this is such an important problem to think about. Payment networks are networks of trust. Since IRL we don't experience "transaction fees" it easy to not understand why such fees are so hard to avoid when moving online.
I don't want to discourage you because it's upsetting how hard it is to extricate oneself from all of the big players in payments.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think this is such an important problem to think about. Payment networks are networks of trust. Since IRL we don't experience "transaction fees" it easy to not understand why such fees are so hard to avoid when moving online.
I don't want to discourage you because it's upsetting how hard it is to extricate oneself from all of the big players in payments.
@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think this is such an important problem to think about. Payment networks are networks of trust. Since IRL we don't experience "transaction fees" it easy to not understand why such fees are so hard to avoid when moving online.
I don't want to discourage you because it's upsetting how hard it is to extricate oneself from all of the big players in payments.
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I totally agree, getting away from the big players is important.
In Australia we can easily pay other people with their phone number.
In the US it is hard - that is why Paypal and others came to be.
In the UK and EU, it is really simple, and free to do transfers.I imagine getting a community bank or building society involved to help with the actual money part - eventually that might solve multiple problems.
It would mean creators have to open an account -
@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
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@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I totally agree, getting away from the big players is important.
In Australia we can easily pay other people with their phone number.
In the US it is hard - that is why Paypal and others came to be.
In the UK and EU, it is really simple, and free to do transfers.I imagine getting a community bank or building society involved to help with the actual money part - eventually that might solve multiple problems.
It would mean creators have to open an account@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
I think working with credit unions is a good idea. There has been growth in that area and there is room for more growth.
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@craiglambie42 @dobetterinstitute @fedipay
To get philosophical: making currency is a primary function of a state. States have chosen to allow private entities to take this role in digital spaces, an abdication of state power. (The political reasons how and why this has happened are interesting.)
I once thought a "stateless currency" was possible. I now think that was very naive.
The currency *is* the state.
When the currency fails? so to the government.
@futurebird @dobetterinstitute @fedipay that is getting into a crypto discussion... which I think is best avoided.
Philosophy is good though... all money is debt... money is not real at all, but a figment of our imagination
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There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
Anyway that is why I'm mailing $20 bills which I iron first so they are very smooth and flat to some lady who makes ant sculptures out of bottle caps.
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There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
@futurebird I totally agree.
I was a property developer and have worked in finance. I know how these people think (and I have to stop myself sometimes)
But Bank of Dave - he is doing it for the people. I want to see that happen too.
No rent seeking, just rewarding people.
Ideally a network of trusted servers, maybe run by banks, or local councils or local clubs/ charities with a treasurer that oversees the distributions, which are mostly automated.
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There is a kind of person who seeks to be the intermediary in all transactions: they fantasize that they should get a little tax on everything.
They seek transaction fees as others seek rents.
Those innocents who want "free and open exchanges" never see them coming. We need to learn to be more suspicious, avaricious or evil IDK.
"you just want to make money without even doing anything!" I cry with horror
They think: "yes, you clueless idiot that's the whole POINT"
@futurebird @craiglambie42 part of the problem is that US banking is primitive, which creates a local market opportunity for anyone smoothing those bumps. It's not clear to me that the rest-of-the-world needs such a thing. One useful function that banks provide, and that costs money to implement, is some amount of fraud detection/correction; sooner or later someone will use a payment system for fraud and/or crime.
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@futurebird @craiglambie42 part of the problem is that US banking is primitive, which creates a local market opportunity for anyone smoothing those bumps. It's not clear to me that the rest-of-the-world needs such a thing. One useful function that banks provide, and that costs money to implement, is some amount of fraud detection/correction; sooner or later someone will use a payment system for fraud and/or crime.
What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?
I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.
If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.
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What services are US banks lacking that one finds abroad?
I often interact with people who don't have bank accounts. A bank can make a lot of sense if you have a salaried job with direct deposit and a mortgage. Generally with one or the other the bank will provide a lot of services for free.
If you don't have such a tie to the bank they can be as predatory as payday lenders which is why people avoid them and go to the payday lenders who are, at least predictable.
@futurebird @craiglambie42 transfer of funds outside the US is much smoother, whereas here in the US wire transfers between people are a BFD that seems to require paperwork. Checks are not a thing in Europe, for example. I.e., the missing services, are speed, and flexibility. US banks are better at profits, however.
