Drip

Yesterday, our portfolio company Kickstarter announced that they had relaunched Drip, a subscription platform they acquired almost two years ago.

Perry Chen, Kickstarter’s founder and Chairman, wrote this blog post explaining what they are trying to do with Drip.

I would like to highlight a few quotes from that post:

Kickstarter is for projects, Drip is for people. – Kickstarter and Drip are different. Kickstarter is about funding a project. Drip is about supporting a person.

In recent years, we’ve seen the growing validation of subscriptions for serial online content creators — podcasters, YouTubers, bloggers — using tools like Flattr, Patreon, and Steady. It’s been great to see organizations build tools like these — the world is far from having too many tools for creators. But there remain large groups of artists and creators who don’t see subscriptions as fitting their creative practices. Our goal with the new Drip is to change that. – Drip is about expanding the market for subscription patronage beyond serial online content.

creators will be able to export their data and content, and we’ll even help creators securely transfer subscription and payments information to other subscription platforms. We believe creator independence means not being locked into a platform by design. – Subscriptions are different than campaigns, they are for the long run. Being able to leave one platform and join another is critical.

Every Drip begins with a founding membership period to help creators build momentum. The founding membership period is a way for creators to entice their fans, friends, and new audiences to jump in and build up their base of support. (This is not all-or-nothing like Kickstarter, but it does build on our experience that a strong call to action is essential.) – Kickstarter knows that having a call to action is key to generating early support for a project. Until now, that notion has not existed in the subscription market.

We also designed Drip to be both separate from but complementary to Kickstarter. One way we’ve done that is that existing Kickstarter users can use their stored account and payment details to easily support creators on Drip. Kickstarter and Drip are different services but they share user accounts and payment credentials. If you are logged into Kickstarter, you are logged into Drip.

We will operate Drip with the mission and values codified in Kickstarter’s Public Benefit Corporation charter, which mandate our commitment to helping people bring their creative projects to life, not putting profit first, and maintaining higher standards for our practices. We think these commitments are more important now than ever. – Kickstarter is a different kind of company, a Public Benefit Corporation. Their products and business practices reflect these values.

I backed about ten drips yesterday. It is about the simplest thing to do on the Internet if you already have a Kickstarter account.

If you are interested in doing the same, you can find some great Drips here.

#crowdfunding

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    I need to dig into this to understand it more.In many of the creative mediums–painters, wine makers, craftspeople–the dynamics have moved away from projects towards the person and this appears to be where this is going.For example, in wine, the idea of vintage, grape et al is far subsumed by the support of the person themselves and their point of view and approach to their craft.I think this is pervasive, from poets to thinkers.

    1. bsoist

      I agree. I like the trend in this direction.I also like the emphasis on not locking the creators in to a platform.

    2. LE

      Also celebrity chefs, celebrity architects ‘starchitects’. Also realtors ‘realtor to the stars’, celebrity CEO’s (pay has had a great deal to do with this). Yes there is creativity in selling real estate and negotiation.

      1. awaldstein

        i see this as a means of supporting people to encourage them to do things that make a difference that are not in essence economic.celebrities don’t need my support and the opposite of how I view drip actually.

        1. PhilipSugar

          I do not want to say that to be a celebrity you have to “sell out” Although I think many celebrities do and have “sold out” And many really true talents don’t even have the thought cross their mind which is the opportunity.

          1. Drew Meyers

            Agree tons (or most?) celebrities end up selling out; it costs money not to. Maybe Drip can help them not…I’m not sure.

        2. Drew Meyers

          What about to help them fundraise for causes they care about?

  2. jason wright

    Drip – it’s a great name.

    1. JamesHRH

      It is, as it describes what the product does.It is not, as the noun version implies negative social or health connotations. Can’t have it all.

    2. Richard

      great name = Facebook ; bad name = myspacegreat name = apple ; bad name = microsoft

      1. jason wright

        the ‘rip’ part may foretell something.

    3. Susan Rubinsky

      As I said before, horrific name.

  3. Marcos Dinnerstein

    I’d like to recommend an artist to be part of their invite only group. She has a singular artistic sensability and she’d give them useful feedback. How might this be possible?

    1. fredwilson

      Pls send me an email. You can find it on the about page on this blog

    2. fredwilson

      Hmm. Seems like my email is not there. Domain is USV.com. Address is Fred

  4. fredwilson

    Kevin. Send me an email. I love this use case!

  5. kirklove

    Very cool. Dig the logo, too.I’m gonna go broke on this thing.

  6. Chimpwithcans

    This is freaking awesome. The best man at my wedding is a wildlife artist in UK dedicated to conservation with every painting he sells: avelingartworks.comAny chance of an invite for him? If not, any idea when it will go mainstream?

  7. awaldstein

    Be cool to create an outreach to artists in NY who are not in this demographic.NY, Brooklyn esp, has an entire community of older artists who have been working for generations, and still do, and this could be a shot in the arm for them, their work and their neighborhoods.An example is my friend from Flatbush below. Just a thought to use crowd funding as a bridge between generations and neighborhoods.http://marianneengberg.dk/?…

    1. JamesHRH

      Beautiful stuff.

  8. Kirsten Lambertsen

    Saw this yesterday and am really excited about it. I back a bunch of female makers on Patreon already and can’t wait to do the same on Drip.I love Patreon because it empowers makers, but I also know a lot of their users are looking for an alternative. And of course to use both!For me, personally, ongoing support is much more attractive than one-off project backing.

    1. Lawrence Brass

      Many artists struggle financially because they don’t know how to build a business out of their creative work or they really don’t want to put money first.Ongoing support gives them the freedom to create.

      1. PhilipSugar

        The challenge always is this: If you love what you do, you won’t get compensated enough because people that love money more than what they do will take advantage of that fact.It’s not just artists, it’s actors, SCUBA instructors, fishing guides, etc.I was told I was wrong on this board when I said let people pursue their passion, but what is the goal?I am not saying not having enough money sucks.But some of the happiest people I know just get along, and they are happy, and sometimes people are right it’s just finding happiness in what you do.I went to this place today: https://1ststateseed.com All he really cares about is selling and making the best grass (lawns) possible. So happy.

        1. LE

          I think it’s possible to love money and love what you do.Plus I think it’s also true that some of the happy people you know also lack the drive and motivation. Why? They are content with just getting by. That’s an ok strategy but it doesn’t build up anything for a rainy day. You know increase in healthcare costs and everything else can be a killer.Not saying that the seed guy has to go national, franchise or become some kind of Scotts. But don’t rest on your laurels either.You know when I opened my small business after graduating college I knew nothing about it at all (nothing; zip) and didn’t particular love it like the craftsman in the neighborhood who had learned it as a craft and weren’t about the money. They were like your seed guy. They laughed at me ‘what do you know’. But the customers didn’t care about the end result as much as the sales and customer service. The craftsman (you know the type) took a long time to give quotes and deliver the product. The secretary in the law office didn’t need the best quality she wanted someone who made her job easy and got back to her quickly so she could move on to the next task. It took me 2 weeks to figure that one out. Ditto for the large hospital buyer. We could charge easily 20% more just for getting back to people quickly. Actually more than that.I really ended up loving what I did because I made money at it. I sold it 9 years after opening and made money and the business is still around today. All those craftsmen? They are all gone. I think they were gone a few years after I sold actually.

          1. PhilipSugar

            I do not disagree, a ton of “craftsman” don’t understand the basics of business. And your example is exactly right. Get back to me and tell me: yes, no, here is how much.It’s why I’ve said I want to go into low tech, because it’s just not that hard.I’ll give you an example: I asked my plumber if he could come out for First Lego League: https://www.firstinspires.o…. This year the theme is hydrodynamics he said yes and then dorked around and didn’t get back to me for weeks.We then contacted these guys: https://www.sobieskiinc.com…He is coming tonight, had his assistant and himself call on the cell to confirm, is bringing a Delta rep and wants to give money (although we told him our company takes care of that, he still wants to figure out to give)

          2. LE

            Part of the problem with ‘craftsmen’ is that they are stretched to thin. This is particularly acute for those that charge under market price (where ‘market’ is what they could charge). As such they have not only more work than they can handle but the admin load of having to do quotes and get back to a customer is truly a burden. It’s the old ‘price quality speed’ pick any two.The good guys, (where ‘good’ means charges less than market and does great work) are always tough to get to show up. My parents used to be right on top of that stuff. They had their crew and my mom was good at pestering to get them to actually show up.They say yes because it’s being ‘passive aggressive’. Action by inaction. Easier to say they will show up than to tell you they can’t. Because they really want to show up. They should jack up their prices a bit. I have never in all these years seen any pattern that is different.One guy a handyman that is hard to get here at the complex likes the girl who works at the management office. So if I really need him I get her to call (as a favor she doesn’t work for me). Last time he comes out, repairs a door then comes to my office and tells me no charge. What an idiot. He thinks that’s what I care about. I don’t I care about free I care that he comes out and fixes what I need and I will pay $75 for that. I don’t want or need free. So I give him a floor install when he says ‘no charge’ for the minor repair. He talks to me about it for like 30 minutes, he knows that I pay and I am serious, he says he will look at it with his daughter (she is a student at a college near the property) and then poof I never hear from him.There is a yiddish word for this ‘schlamuzzel’. Sort of like ‘doesn’t have their shit together but means well’. (My translation anyway).

          3. PhilipSugar

            Agree. If you are good then charge a fair price and be busy. Say no to certain things, especially new customers or those that don’t want to pay.Sometimes a freebie can have a huge return but only to a valued customer that pays you well and on time, because it’s not worth your time to charge, and it causes a social bond.Like so many things I learned this in my lawn mowing business how to sell, how it is important not to be dependent on somebody else for your technical work, and how to fire “customers” Because the customer is always right or they are not a customer.I remember her name Ms. Becker. (she is no longer with us) I did a ton of work for her this time of year with leaves, etc. I gave her the bill and she said she thought that was outrageous and was only willing to pay 25% of it. I said I didn’t think that was reasonable, but we hadn’t agreed on a price upfront which was my bad and if that was what she really thought ok.The next year she called me up to confirm her lawn service. I told her we didn’t want her as a customer. She called and visited my mother who said I needed to do it. I told my father, I’d close my business rather than be forced to work for her.She had to go out to commercial workers and they really charged her and put ruts in her yard.The next year she called again and I doubled the price and said we would agree on any extra work in writing. She was very upset but agreed.You know I get tons of work done. The thing I hate the most is chasing somebody to get work done. Just pisses me off. I am paying you and I need to chase you? Versus the opposite?I give great props to people that say I am too busy, your job is too small, it is going to be x weeks to get it done.Did none of these people ever date? Seriously.It is why I say too many salespeople is worse than too few. People can feel desperation and they take advantage of it.Restaurants have figured this out. A great one I go to is Border Cafe (my kids love) http://www.bordercafe.com They tell me it’s going to be twenty minutes and my phone gets a text before I finish just going to the bathroom.Another one, my BIL is using a contractor to totally replace his deck. He said he really wanted it to be done before Thanksgiving (it is at his house this year)The guy says no way. My BIL says, ok but let’s just start anyway, I’ve seen your work. The guy is finishing up tomorrow.Now interesting to our discussion my BIL told me today that the contractor said: “I used to have four times the amount of people work for me. I made more money sometimes, and less other times. I like my crew of 8 because I can manage at most 4 jobs, and I want to be at each site two hours a day and have the horsepower to get after a job with 8 guys if I am behind, I never come in late which is why I turn down work and don’t negotiate price”.

          4. LE

            how it is important not to be dependent on somebody else for your technical workGuy who bought my company had a piece of machinery freeze and seize up a few months in (thousands to repair but more importantly couldn’t do any jobs) because he didn’t know it needed to be lubed and maintained and the idiots who work for small companies aren’t Boeing plane mechanics or even close. Nice lesson to learn. Otoh got a contract from Penn that I couldn’t get because his uncle was on the board or knew the board something like that. I knew how to do just about anything. I had to because when I started I had no employees and (like you) didn’t want to depend on anyone else. Plus I enjoyed it actually and was able to do it and learn quickly. Downside is hard to delegate sometimes when you have a clue I find.but we hadn’t agreed on a price upfrontThe paradox that I learned early on was that it was better to be asked to quote a price and give a high one than a customer who just said ‘whatever it is I will pay it just do the work’. Why? The latter can then say ‘I didn’t know it was that much!’. That is what the casino developer said to us. Otoh if you quote the price and the customer agrees you are set 99% of the time.I like my crew of 8 because I can manage at most 4 jobs, and I want to be at each site two hours a day I invited to speak to my Wharton class the guys who started Spains Cards and Gifts (The Spains, they sold to American Greeting I for $300 million many years ago). Back when the started my dad sold to them and knew them. He used to tell me they couldn’t pay their bills and he had to float them. Anyway in the classroom they said ‘two stores no problem one in the morning one in the afternoon’. But once they got bigger that didn’t work for them. Nice guys they invented or popularized the happy button so the story goes. They used to come to the gift show and walk in and my dad would get an order, big order, in 5 minutes. They would say ‘just write up for your best sellers’ and sign the order. Then go to the next booth. The mom and pops would ‘drey’ him for 2 hours with a small order. You know how he fired them? He would let us kids write them up! He wanted to be sitting waiting for the big customer and literally was afraid he’d miss them if he went to the bathroom.I dated a girl once whose father was an HVAC contractor. He said the same exact thing as your BIL to me when I was a kid. “I used to have 15 trucks and it was a mess now I have 2 (or maybe 3) and doing much better. ‘ He took me out on a call once. Was at Steak and Ale restaurant. The manager simply didn’t turn the unit on or breaker popped. He said to me ‘I have to climb up on the roof and make him think I will do something or I can’t bill him and he will feel stupid for calling me’. He also told me ‘other guys pump more freon (legal back then) than the unit can hold. They are pigs. I cheat but don’t cheat that much I always just put in what the system can take and bill them.I am sure you’ve had the situation where the wife says the Hvac doesn’t work and you find it’s because the door is not shut on the unit and the switch prevents operation (or similar simple thing to fix). So it’s not about (my dad taught me) the money so much as not having to wait to get someone out to fix shit. All if you just know a bit about how things work.

          5. PhilipSugar

            Unless you are in a position to not care, you better know, not be an expert, but know. For two reasons: First so you don’t get reamed and secondly for respect. When people know you don’t have a clue they rightfully don’t respect you and are willing to ream you. As you point out how much is the only question.A good story: I went to pickup my Volvo. It doesn’t matter to me to know because I get to put on 28k and turn it in, in one year. All maintenance included including the tires. If it breaks Enterprise picks me up with a loaner car and they take the car to the dealer that fixes it and drives it back to me.I came to the dealer, dressed in my usual shorts and t shirt, and saw the owner, sales manager, and service manager looking under the hood. I said who I was, they cocked their heads and said do you know it has X, Y, and Z feature that are not out yet in this car? I said nope. They said that 4l Supercharged, Turbocharged engine and 8 speed transmission are sweet. I said “is that what it has in it?”I could instantly see in their faces: We are giving this idiot this car?I immediately showed a picture of a really old Volvo I took in Newark, and that I had restored cars as a kid, and I told my brother I would take what I could get, my A8 had broken.Instant change in attitude.I really think here is the issue. When people know you don’t have a clue best case they think this person is going to screw me sometime because they don’t have a clue, so I better get my share while I can. That is best case. Worst case is the just screw you hard.It’s not unjustified. You always say you can only be as honest as your competition. When you have somebody without a clue, you can lose them to somebody that just tells them what they want to hear.

          6. LE

            Related to the Volvo garage story is the concept of shared interests or connections. It’s a common sales manipulation to attempt to make a connection with the person you are selling (or in this case) communicating with to create a bond. Sorry if that sounds like book learning it’s not (even though it’s in books for sure) just something that I figured out over the years. So say you meet some random person and find out that their brother also teaches at ASU [1] In the case of the car with you it’s like ‘oh this guy is not a tool he’s a member of the tribe’ which is what you are saying. Now what would be interesting is if you had said that you took apart another car (not volvo) and whether you would get the same reaction and respect. Or if you were a mechanic on jets. Or played for the Flyers. All of that could be enough to wipe the bad attitude off their faces. I deal with people over the phone by the way (and I hate it). Most sound like idiots to me. But then often I find out something impressive about them and all the sudden my feeling changes and they don’t sound as stupid.[1] Confirmed with google search of ‘sugar asu’ … my god how easy things are), instant bond is created.

          7. PhilipSugar

            Yup and if you google Volvo you can figure out who my other brother is. I always tell people my last name is a blessing and a curse. Easy to find me.

          8. Richard

            yep, warren buffet

          9. Lawrence Brass

            Beautiful things like the gearbox in your Porsche happens in great deal thanks to the craftsmen, who are usually locked up in a lab or factory for all day long so they don’t have too much time to deal with the economics of life.

          10. PhilipSugar

            Yes but here is an important but……..they have somebody like me that is making sure the economics work. See http://www.springactive.com

          11. Lawrence Brass

            Springactive is very cool. I recall visiting the site earlier this year either following a link you posted or researching you. :)What is your involvement with them or role?I love DARPA related projects, used to follow the grand challenge. The issue is that the moment things begin to get interesting, they are classified.

          12. PhilipSugar

            I run business operations and financially backed it put up 100%of cash

        2. Lawrence Brass

          Yep, they take advantage of the fact at their loss. I believe that if you really understand people needs and are capable of fine tuning with what is happening at their side, the benefit of their collaboration can be maximized.I am bit of a workaholic, or tinkeraholic if you wish, so life balance is a real issue for me. I have this fleet of grandchildren aging around me and can’t avoid feeling sorry for losing the opportunity to share more with them.I am trying to apply this rule: When in doubt, optimize for happiness.

          1. PhilipSugar

            Now we are going to sound like two cranky old men 🙂 I think people have lost empathy, sympathy, and respect.The internet and the news are teaching people those don’t matter.That plumber that came in last night to mentor our lego league kids because the theme is hydrodynamics was unbelievable good. Was he dirty from putting in a day of work, and did his shirt have his name on it? Yes. But did that man take his own time and give of his great knowledge and was a great speaker even though that isn’t what he does. He loved to understand how we were programming our EV3’sDamn I love guys like that and my seed guy so much more than dealing with some “brotastic” ahole.

    2. PhilipSugar

      The key to success is ongoing revenue. Software companies figured this out in the late 1990’s. See my article about SaaS in Software Magazine in 1999.The other key as a maker is you have to constantly deliver results we release new software every six to eight weeks.

    3. Richard

      Those giving anything more than .01% of their take home pay month and are not yet on a path to financial freedom, should think twice. kickstarter donor data suggests that the 25-34 demo gives significantly more than any other age group, if this group understood the time value of money, they would allocate this same $10-15/month toward an HSA, Roth IRA or similar.

    4. Susan Rubinsky

      I support people on Patreon as well. Looking forward to checking out Drip (though, I detest the name since it’s got an automatic negative connotation in our existing culture).

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        Yeah, I thought it was kind of an odd choice of name, heh.

  9. JamesHRH

    OK, this is a TERRIFIC idea.First thought – I don’t know how bad I would want to be ‘ a Drip ‘ or be thought of as ‘on a Drip’. It seems to be Month of the Brutal Names here @ AVC.Second, if you wanted to do an ICO of an artist, I think that would be an super interesting thing……to be able to invest in someone’s talent / career like it was a stock or a company.For instance, we own a triptych purchased in 2000 by this artist – http://www.nathanbirch.com/… . It would have been super interesting to fund his career………for a piece of the long term proceeds. I guess, in reality, his sponsoring galleries do that for him. But still.Yes, we likely are up $ on the piece, but I would have much rather have been able to lean in to what I was sure was a long term winner.

    1. Vasudev Ram

      Good points about the first thought and the long term proceeds. I’d be willing to do that (proceeds sharing) from either end, artist or buyer. Win-win. Also, in a sense, it used to be done in the past – it was called patronage – by kings, of artists etc (though the kings might not have got money, only the prestige associated with sponsoring a good artist). And even Larry Wall (Perl creator) has said that for some time, Tim O’Reilly was his patron.

    2. PhilipSugar

      Keep buying pieces

      1. JamesHRH

        Yes, except buying piece into a burgeoning artistic career is essentially averaging up (which we have done at least once w Nathan).We bought the first one at the prototype stage of his career when only his talent was assured. That’s when you want to Lean In !!!

    3. Susan Rubinsky

      Drip is a horrific name.

  10. pointsnfigures

    Now if you want you can create a personal brand on Drip.

  11. Vasudev Ram

    Standard question, for people outside the US: Is the service available outside the US too? 🙂

    1. nickste

      @vasudevram:disqus yes, Drip will be available to creators in all countries supported by Kickstarter. (I work on the Drip team)

      1. Vasudev Ram

        Thanks. Does that include India? When Kickstarter was started, IIRC, I checked, and India was not supported at the time. Same for a few other AVC portfolio companies I was interested in using the services of, such as WorkMarket. I recognize that the cross-border issues are many and not easy, but hoping that some of these startups will solve them, as some other companies have. Among others, Gumroad and FastSpring (both sites where one can sell digital products (physical too, for Gumroad)) have done so – solved some of those international issues, that is.

  12. Kirsten Lambertsen

    You gotta let me know when you launch this 🙂

    1. falicon

      Will do (gotta get that private invite first).If I get approved to do it, I would include some incentives like:- weekly update on whatever tech challenge I’m digging into and whatever interesting tech stuff I stumble into that week.- early access to dev versions of whatever I’m currently hacking on (as well as behind the scenes things I’m thinking about/planning/trying to accomplish with each).- about page mentions and thank you on each little project I release.- read (maybe even write) access to my private github repo where all my ‘active’ and (most of my) ‘archived’ code sits.- opportunities to help me name features or projects.- opportunities to suggest projects or features to build (i.e. custom stuff that might only be of use/interest to you)…anything else you can think of that might be worth me putting into one of the incentives?If I do/can get approved for it…regardless of the money it brings in (can you say $5/yr?!)…I think it would be a lot of fun to give a try! 🙂

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        Those are all cool. I think the incentives will be driven by *who* will end up wanting to back you… is it other devs, or non-devs? It may take a little time to learn that answer.Maybe a monthly Twitch of you coding live and explaining your process? Or just videos of that?But yeah, in general I _think_ backers will want to see a regular output of something they can consume, use, enjoy and/or share (based upon my experience as a backer on Patreon).

        1. falicon

          I like the Twitch idea!My thinking is, some rewards for devs (or aspiring devs), some for startup-focused people (insight into a serial startup dev), and some for just reg. people (the ones I *actually* try to build stuff for — so users).But agree – I have no idea if/who would back me on this sort of thing…and will need to cater/adjust based on the answer…but def. anxious to find out the answer. 🙂

          1. LE

            I think you need to have some physical object associated with support. Maybe a screen of code framed and ready to hang. Designed and colorful. Suitable for framing or already framed.You know when the pizza shop backs the local baseball team they get their name on the uniforms. You think the reason is it helps them sell pizza. But the real reason is people like to see their name. It’s vanity which plays a large (not only obviously) role. Or production credits on a movie. More than just making money.Actually there’s an idea. You work their name into the code somehow and send them a framed print of that section. More technical looking the better.

          2. falicon

            I like those ideas too – my version of that was to put their names into the ‘about’ and/or ‘credits’ section of the various projects…but I could def. do some framed/printed code that could maybe be personalized (depending on the support level).Lots of fun ideas to explore around the whole concept really…

          3. LE

            I feel pretty strongly that my suggestion is a better deliverable!!! For one thing you can’t have the party in your brain (as I say) if you have to bring someone over to your computer and say ‘hey see my name in the credits’. You know rich people who give money to political campaigns or meet a celebrity (on the step and repeat) get a framed picture. Then they hang that in their office or hallway. They do this now at bar and bat mitzvahs. You get a personalized product which you can then brag to others about and they can act as if they actually care. Doesn’t matter if they do.Along those lines something people can post to facebook, instagram, snap whatever so they can brag that way as well. My point is having it in the credits is friction and harder and seems not the same type of bragging if you get my point.You will probably run out of steam and not do any of this. I am trying to goad you on for sure!

          4. falicon

            You can pull out a phone and show someone though (maybe I’ll even create personalized apps for some special backers)…but I get your point and agree. Physical stuff is cool.My thinking/motivation for all of this is just because I *already* write and push code every single day…and I already love building small things that I hope people find useful and interesting…so this would really just add a small layer of ‘communication’ and ‘behind the curtain peek’ into what I already do every day.But I have to get invited into the program before I can do any of it…so only time will tell if it actually happens or not. 🙂

          5. kidmercury

            github repo access is a great perk for the “software developer artist/dripper” or whatever it’s being called. i think that perk alone will be enough of a draw and won’t require too much more effort from you (save a bunch of pull requests, some of which you may actually find useful!)

      2. kidmercury

        i would back this!

  13. Richard Carlow

    Essentially bringing patronage to the people and doing away with negative connotations. Nice.

  14. Kirsten Lambertsen

    Just backed my first Drip maker!https://d.rip/ironspikeSomeone I’ve followed on Twitter for a couple of years now 🙂

    1. Drew Meyers

      I’m not sure why Twitter doesn’t buy patreon (or a similar service), and automatically give every twitter account a subscription system & way to tip them w/ micro payments

      1. Kirsten Lambertsen

        Right? You may know I’m advocate of Twitter buying Patreon. I was thinking today, too, they should buy Disqus. They should also start a decentralized Twitter before someone else does ;-D

        1. Drew Meyers

          Who should start that, Twitter? Or Disqus?How is a decentralized network going to get to critical mass?

          1. Kirsten Lambertsen

            Oh, I meant Twitter should do so.I think if Twitter took the initiative, they’d have the best chance of reaching critical mass.It’s certainly a question if anyone else could reach critical mass with a decentralized Twitter clone. I know the folks at Blockstack would love someone to try 😉 But, I’ve been around too long to believe that any incumbent is untouchable, esp in social media.

          2. Drew Meyers

            I don’t think they are untouchable at all. But knocking off the big boys is getting harder and harder given the endless noise. (Many) people are tired of trying new social platforms, only to see them go under.Wouldn’t twitter have to have the “community” buy them out, in order to do a decentralized network themselves?

          3. Kirsten Lambertsen

            I was thinking they could ‘branch’ a decentralized ‘spinoff’ of Twitter. Maybe open source it. And yeah, implement a token. How exciting would it be to see Twitter get out at the edge again? They should have their own RD team be developing a version of Twitter on Blockstack. Even if the decentralized Twitter ended up only being a research lab of sorts, it would provide tremendous value to Twitter and its users, I think.

          4. Kirsten Lambertsen

            Early adopters (aka Twttr’s dev community) would absolutely jump onto a decentralized, tokenized, open-sourced Twitter on Blockstack.

          5. Drew Meyers

            It’s not decentralized (I don’t think), but bloomberg has a chance given the influential networks/people they can get onboard early on: https://www.axios.com/bloom

  15. Drew Meyers

    I’m a huge, huge fan of tools for makers/creators to earn revenue.We’ve setup a Patreon campaign for the home sharing platform Horizon we’ve been working on: https://www.patreon.com/hor…Best way to think about the product is a blend of airbnb and couchsurfing, with friends, friends of friends, and communities such as Peace Corps, StartingBloc, Global Shapers, Stanford, etc — or even AVC 🙂

  16. Hugo Jenkins

    As a newly launched Patreon creator, I’m curious to see if there are any points of difference with Drip apart from integration with Kickstarter? Is it just Patreon but by Kickstarter?As an aside, I’m also curious about who thought it was a good idea to use a monospaced font on the Drip landing page for body content ^_^