I'm starting building a Youtube alternative

Justin · 2020-01-09T02:42:24+00:00

True, that's something that's crossed my mind. However I don't plan on going after content that could possibly fall under what they may terminate me for, so I think I will be pretty insulated from that.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:56:36+00:00

One of the CDNs I'm looking at is Cloudflare Stream, https://www.cloudflare.com/products/stream-delivery/. For example with bandwidth, they charge a flat rate of $1 per thousand minutes streamed. If that is 1080p content at 2MBps, that's 120GB of content With KeyCDN, that would be $1.20 in bandwidth costs at their best pricing tier. With Cloudfront, it's $2.40 for that same amount of bandwidth and at their best pricing tier once you're already pushing 5 petabytes a month. Another advantage to Cloudflare is that they also handle the storage and the encoding as well. Those three alone take a huge chunk of the infrastructure responsibilities off of my plate so I would be able to scale up considerably cheaper.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:46:57+00:00

A web browser should be the only thing needed to browse a website like Reddit. It's a fucking link aggregator with comments, I shouldn't need to download an app to use it, nor should I be bombarded with the 'how would you like to proceed? Open in the Reddit App or browser' when I use my phone.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:26:59+00:00

Are there niches on Youtube that pay in the $20+ range? I genuinely don't know. I've thought lately that this idea may serve better as a supplement to Youtube than a straight out competitor. Users who prefer an ad-free, non-Google experience and the ability to directly tip creators, and creators that prefer a more creatively free platform with the potential to pay a better rate, may see enough pros to justify using it. But with how early into building the website I am, this is the kind of feedback and questions I like getting because it can help me see angles I might otherwise not see.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:22:43+00:00

I think they're on a 45/55 split in favor of the user. Percentage wise it's a bit better than what I'm proposing, but I think the lack of advertising influence and more creative leeway are enough to justify it. Of course, it's something that can always be tweaked in the future depending on user feedback.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:20:45+00:00

I've thought of integrating crypto donations and fully plan to. It won't be something available right off the bat and I don't plan on taking much/if any of a cut of it, I'd rather all of it go to the channel instead. If the website is turning enough of a profit to sustain itself and grow at a steady rate, then I don't want to get greedy by nickel and diming users every opportunity I get.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:17:09+00:00

Yeah, that's true about the leftist/liberal distinction. I'll be honest, a lot of far-left people like him aren't super interested in even what people like me have to say. I'm in favor of some of the policies that the democratic party is pushing these days, but not all, and it's wicked frustrating to see twitter politics sort of set the tone for the party. That's one of the reasons I'm trying to wind down my daily interest in politics, it's just such a pain in the cunt to follow.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:14:30+00:00

That's true, I'm not expecting people to flock to it overnight. I need to build a rock solid website that has more than enough content right out of the gate to justify a monthly subscription. However, I think that reaching out to existing creators and bringing in as many as I can will really help. Just browsing reddit regularly, there is a huge demand for a new site and I think there are enough people that would pay a small fee each month to make it work.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:12:01+00:00

I haven't reached out to any big Youtubers yet but I will be doing that once the project is far along enough to use. Just looking at bitchute now, it's a lot of politically divisive videos and conspiracy theories. Nothing against them per se but it can turn off the average user. I'd like to build a platform that offers Youtubers an alternative that doesn't have a lot of the hangups that Youtube does; the advertisements, the copyright algorithms from hell, and so on. Paypal is certainly one of the merchants I'm considering, but there are others such as Stripe I'm looking into.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:08:42+00:00

There are, but none have really caught on with mainstream users now that vid.me is gone.

Justin · 2020-01-07T02:08:07+00:00

One of the major steps I am going to take once I have a workable product and before it is released to the general public is to reach out to various creators on youtube, focusing on ones who are actively looking for alternative platforms. My plan is to invite them to a closed demo of the website for three reasons: A] get feedback on the functionality from people who run successful Youtube channels B] build up a content library ahead of release so that there will be enough channels to justify a subscription and C] help spread the word about it. I think Youtube operates at or near a loss due mainly because anyone can upload a video, and so many of their uploads don't run any advertisements. If it's on a subscription model, every member that uploads a video is directly paying anywhere from $3-5 per month towards the websites infrastructure. Netflix for example, turns a profit of around a billion dollars last year and they guzzle bandwidth like it's no tomorrow.

I'm aware it's a monumental undertaking, but I think it's a risk vs reward situation and the reward is absolutely there. I'm continuously researching what infrastructure setups will be best in terms of storage, CDN providers, and so on. I'm sure the margins overall are going to be tight, but I think it would be sustainable enough to be a serious contender to Google, and let's be honest, SOMEBODY needs to challenge them.

Justin · 2020-01-07T01:56:04+00:00

Naturally the website will have to follow the law as far as copyright infringement goes. That being said, Youtube relies heavily on automation to detect and handle copyright claims. I want to have that handled by myself or human employees if it ever gets to that point. It will be a more expensive solution but having each claim reviewed by an actual person should cut the rate of false claims down considerably and with less impact to the users who aren't actually infringing.

Justin · 2020-01-07T01:53:05+00:00

Vimeo has different tiers depending on how much space you need. I want to offer unlimited space at one price point. They start at $7 a month for the entry plan which is around what I plan on charging, but their higher levels are upwards of $20 a month and I think most users won't want to pay that much.

Justin · 2020-01-07T01:50:21+00:00

They're in criminally short supply. I figured vid.me was going to be a serious contender but they had to throw in the towel unfortunately.

Justin · 2020-01-07T01:49:52+00:00

Absolutely, will do. Thank you for the support as well

Justin · 2020-01-07T01:49:37+00:00

I want to keep the barrier to entry as low as possible. The average internet user is familiar with streaming sites but not as savvy when it comes to decentralized software and setting up their own platform. It's a great piece of software, but in my opinion it's oriented more towards the tech crowd.

Justin · 2020-01-05T16:17:14+00:00

As a liberal, this is the type of sensationalist liberalism that gives the rest of us a bad reputation.

Justin · 2020-01-05T16:11:09+00:00

I'm going to attempt to self fund it initially. Since there will be consistent income from subscribers each month, I won't have to deal with finding advertising partners, waiting on receiving money from them to split up, and so on. It's a bit more streamlined having a subscription model instead.

Justin · 2020-01-05T14:17:37+00:00

Can't imagine it being as large a number as healthcare already costs in this country.

Justin · 2019-10-15T23:25:19+00:00

What color is your skin?

Justin · 2019-10-15T13:51:36+00:00

Did he not say that then? There's no need to jump straight to insulting me, I haven't insulted you at all.

Justin · 2019-10-15T13:39:21+00:00

And what makes you think that?

Justin · 2019-10-15T13:03:12+00:00

Donnie is the one who imagines he's a successful businessman so I'd take her in a heartbeat

Justin · 2019-10-15T11:34:53+00:00

What does her being white have to do with anything? You're just coming across as bitter and racist instead of addressing her actual message.

Justin · 2019-10-15T11:23:59+00:00

Trump could always try not being a complete asshole

Justin · 2019-10-15T11:17:57+00:00

Sanders and Warren are both orders of magnitude better than Trump

Justin · 2019-10-14T23:57:05+00:00

So much for eliminating it like he promised.

Justin · 2019-10-14T23:55:50+00:00

Drifting too far to the left on this issue unforunately.

Justin · 2019-10-14T21:58:38+00:00

Thanks for your input buddy

Justin · 2019-10-14T21:51:33+00:00

"Look at the other guy" is valid when the "other guy" is the president.

Justin · 2019-10-14T20:40:43+00:00

Forget his sons having foreign business ties - Donnie himself still does.

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/10/article/in-turkey-trump-has-a-conflict-of-interest/

Justin · 2019-10-14T20:39:36+00:00

You're actually doing the thing you're complaining about. Calling out the trump family is absolutely valid because he is the president. And as far as Biden being creepy? Yeah, he is for sure - but let's not forget that Trump was friends with Jeffrey Epstein and has a history of sexualizing his own daughter.

Justin · 2019-10-12T19:17:58+00:00

Weren't you supposed to be shutting the fuck up?

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:58:41+00:00

Adios, asshole.

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:57:48+00:00

I never advocated for war. I was asking why your dear leader is too much of a pussy to stand up for our troops.

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:56:56+00:00

You're as fake and intellectually bankrupt as every other Trump supporter I deal with. Come back here when he's carted off in handcuffs, cunt.

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:41:00+00:00

America first

America first, but when we're attacked then it's tough shit, shouldn't have been there.

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:38:21+00:00

Hold up - I thought Trump was the anti-war president, not the president who takes it up the ass from the country that funded 9/11? Who am I kidding, he's a spineless coward. This is one of the more fucked up things he's done and that says a lot.

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:34:26+00:00

We're there helping the Kurds fight ISIS. I didnt think that was a secret. But if you're fine with Turkey bombing our outpost and not giving a shit, I guess that's what's to be expected from a Trump supporter.

Justin · 2019-10-12T18:27:50+00:00

So it's ok that Turkey attacked us. Good to know you don't support them

Justin · 2019-10-12T17:42:19+00:00

The Pentagon has said that the Turkish military should have known we had units there. This doesnt bother you at all, that another country bombed our troops and the president has said absolutely nothing about it?

Justin · 2019-10-12T17:04:48+00:00

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/turkey-mistakenly-bombs-us-special-forces-in-syria-attack-report

Are you saying it's fine that our troops were "accidentally" bombed because you don't think we should be there?

Justin · 2019-10-12T13:46:26+00:00

How many tens of millions have been spent just by our own government at his properties? He's robbing this country blind

Justin · 2019-10-10T21:48:09+00:00

Bernie would make a phenomenal president

Justin · 2019-10-10T21:45:42+00:00

The Kurds are being massacred because trump is a colossal pussy who got yelled at over the phone by Erdogan and doesnt have the balls to stand up for himself

Justin · 2019-10-10T12:16:49+00:00

This is the most corrupt administration in modern history. Drain the swamp where, into the White House?

Justin · 2019-10-10T12:15:54+00:00

Oh yes, because he cares soo much about our veterans. This guy is the biggest fucking hack I've ever seen

Justin · 2019-10-09T13:11:11+00:00

I don't think so, I still see conversations about Voat on there every now and then. I used to go there occasionally a few years ago but it was drifting too much into the alt-right territory for my tastes so I stopped going there. I hope this place doesn't follow suit.

Justin · 2019-10-09T12:35:05+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if Tencent has some money invested in Imgur too as another way to exert influence over Reddit.

Justin · 2019-10-09T12:33:38+00:00

They're basically a front for the Chinese government

Justin · 2019-10-09T11:21:07+00:00

Hey just wondering if this is doable?

Justin · 2019-10-09T10:05:40+00:00

Absolutely. Freedom of information should be a fundamental right for everyone.

Justin · 2019-10-09T10:03:16+00:00

You think everything is a deep state CIA front 🙄

Justin · 2019-10-09T02:21:41+00:00

I'm going to blame this on my gingerness and lack of a soul

Justin · 2019-10-08T22:01:09+00:00

You would think.. but apparently some people are just looking for an excuse to be an asshole.

Justin · 2019-10-08T03:57:38+00:00

Do you have to click on the gif button next to the link to show it or is it automatic for you?

Justin · 2019-10-08T03:54:43+00:00

Test https://i.imgtc.ws/Qp047Ha.jpg

Justin · 2019-10-08T01:27:30+00:00

Absolutely. It gets some usage on reddit: https://old.reddit.com/domain/imgtc.ws/new/

And a direct link to see on here: https://i.imgtc.ws/7CzA8PZ.gif

Justin · 2019-10-08T00:29:39+00:00

Damn, us poor bastards in the lower brackets got shafted.

Justin · 2019-10-08T00:25:19+00:00

Is there any way for Saidit admins to change the mod staff on subs? For instance just replacing an inactive mod with an active user?

Justin · 2019-10-07T22:16:45+00:00

If needing a downvote button is this important to you, you're more than welcome to start your own reddit clone that has it.

Justin · 2019-10-06T12:03:21+00:00

Just signed up, glad this handle was available haha.

Justin