Adam Curry is the modern-day Prometheus. His discovery of podcasting and sharing it with the world was as vital of a growth as when Prometheus stole fireplace from the gods to provide to people. Podcasting has rapidly developed into one of the widespread methods to speak helpful info, fully disintermediating the CIA-controlled media equipment. Whereas Bitcoin seeks to separate cash and state, podcasting seeks to separate syndicated information organizations and data.
Giving the world podcasting was not sufficient for Curry as he’s now as soon as once more looking for to wrestle management from the gods by permitting people to interact in what he coined the “value-for-value financial system” by permitting podcasters to obtain Lightning funds.
The fiat value-for-value financial system is very large. There are instruments like YouTube tremendous chats, PayPal, Patreon, and extra that permit content material creators to obtain immense quantities of worth from their viewers with out having to rely solely on sponsors.
The Bitcoin value-for-value financial system is far smaller, however in my view as a credentialed journalist, considerably extra necessary. The primary value-for-value use of bitcoin was when WikiLeaks was kicked off the fiat fee rails. Exposing battle criminals is likely one of the core duties of journalists, but is an unapproved exercise by the parasitic ruling class. One among my mottos is journalism dies in compliance, and constructing the complete media equipment on prime of techniques that depend on permission to function will fully kill any capability for any actual info to be transmitted.
In current months, by means of the revelations on USAID funding of media, the playbook for the way the media equipment is managed has been laid naked for everybody to see. The techniques for controlling and manipulating info are refined and infrequently aren’t obvious. For a lot of media firms to get any notable funding, they must bend the knee to the ruling class, sacrifice any dignity they’ve, and carry out fellatio on people who most likely had shut ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Because of this I left conventional media to type The Bugle, the world’s premier information company.
There are numerous myths in regards to the establishment of journalism. Many consider that journalists are supposed to inform the reality, deliver helpful info to people, and expose wrongdoings. Individuals who consider these myths doubtless haven’t interacted with many journalists. I’d argue that the establishment of journalism is extra about partaking in covert propaganda, hidden behind the duvet (fable) of getting some ethical excessive floor.
Nearly all of journalists are people who’re mercenaries for whoever pays them.
Following the trailblazing efforts of Adam Curry and Julian Assange, The Bugle has operated fully off a value-for-value mannequin, utilizing bitcoin as the primary funding mechanism. The product we’re promoting is our content material. We don’t function as a advertising company for firms that try to promote merchandise to our customers, as a result of which means the content material turns into secondary. As a way to obtain worth out of your customers, you first have to provide one thing helpful sufficient.
The problem of going fully Bitcoin is that you’re asking your viewers to wade into the realm of dangerous UX. Lightning has been one of many backbones for monetization for The Bugle as micropayments are nice for customers trying to ship small funds.
Utilizing Lightning is tough. Lightning customers have needed to cope with rug pulls from easy-to-use Lightning wallets, the dangerous UX of managing channels by yourself node, failed transactions, bugs on the Fountain app, and rather more.
Some might declare that instruments like Fountain, Nostr, BTCPay Server, and different instruments that permit content material customers to ship bitcoin to content material creators lack the UX essential to make a distinction. This appears to be the final consensus. “The revolution must have good UX for it to even occur” is, in my view, flawed pondering. The dangerous UX of those platforms permits them to predominantly be occupied by precise revolutionaries and scares away the faint of coronary heart, who discover utilizing their mind even the slightest an impediment so insurmountable that they find yourself watching Netflix as an alternative.
At The Bugle, we aren’t competing with Netflix. We aren’t catering to those that don’t have the willingness or capability to suppose. We’re catering to the few, the proud, the revolutionaries. In keeping with our analytics, 90% of our podcast listeners use Fountain. We’re limiting our potential viewers development by specializing in selling our content material on platforms with poor person expertise, however in doing so, we’re concentrating on those who truly matter. The Bugle shouldn’t be on your boomer father who believes that smoking cigarettes is dangerous for you, believes within the sanctity of establishments, and has numerous opinions on issues he has completed zero analysis on. No, we’re catering to those that have completed the proof-of-work and have an opinion that really issues.
Bitcoin initially had horrible UX and due to this fact was solely utilized by revolutionaries. Those that had been mining hundreds of bitcoin on the CPUs within the very starting could also be(come) among the richest people in human historical past. Satoshi didn’t pause the revolution to be able to first implement good UX. He knew that the NPCs who had been afraid of utilizing command strains would ultimately come however that to ensure that the mission to achieve success, it needed to begin with those that had been keen to wade into the unknown.
Our society lacks private duty. It lacks accountability. It doesn’t worth the person. It preaches altruism and focuses on the “frequent good”. All of this outcomes from calls for for good UX. Consequently, the weakest (gayest) rise to the highest. All the pieces is predicated on a recognition contest decided by the least distinctive amongst us. The concept of getting an actual meritocracy is threatening to those that refuse to really do any work, or who discover it difficult to arrange mind cells for duties aside from superficial pleasure.
I reject these premises. I consider that we will construct a helpful media firm whereas utilizing dangerous UX. I consider we will have extra affect broadly by looking for to completely goal these with the capability to wade into nuance and transcend brain-dead groupthink. My entire life I’ve hungered for content material that has depth and that means. Sitting on the sidelines hoping that another person steps to the plate shouldn’t be the mindset of somebody who issues. I can’t spend my time attempting to persuade silly folks to not be silly. If I did that, it might be as a result of I don’t worth my time and don’t worth myself. As an alternative, I’ll spend my time attempting to encourage the revolutionaries, the doers, the people who find themselves demoralized as a result of they really feel remoted in a sea of mediocrity.
My identify is Richard Greaser,
And I’m the John Galt of journalism.
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This piece is an article featured within the newest Print version of Bitcoin Journal, The Lightning Problem. We’re sharing it right here to indicate the concepts explored all through the complete subject.
