It was always going to go that way. Any social media site is going to go that way.
Even Lemmy will one day go that way.
Here's the program:
Build a platform that people like using.
As more people use it, the creators will need more money to keep it up.
Realize there's much monies to be had.
Hire marketing and sales people
The platform becomes a company, sell to the highest bidder.
The platform implements algorithms that make them more money.
The algorithms make people hate the site.
Do many unpopular things to kick out the real content creators that once made the platform thrive.
The company is left with casual users that don't know anything about the platform, they're just there to find out what burger joint to go to in San Antonio or which caulk is best to use for an outdoor shower.
The company is very successful because they can push anything to the casual user and they will accept it as advice instead of what it really is - ads or algorithms to enrage them (because thats where the real money is - social media platforms keep you online longer if they piss you off)
Make huge profits for a while then become a latter-day digg
It was always going to go that way. Any social media site is going to go that way.
Even Lemmy will one day go that way.
Here's the program:
Is it possible to commercialize lemmy?
How is Lemmy paying for the servers they need to serve content? I have no idea, but someone is footing the bill.
I think some of the larger instances accept user donations. And smaller instances are just paid for by the owner.