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   Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:24 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

   There's this social phenomenon that happens to me, that I've never really understood.

   The gist is that people ask me for advice, I give them advice, they follow half that advice, and then get very angry when not following the other half of that advice results in the exact outcome I told them it would, and then ask for more advice but preface it with "but don't say [thing I already told them]"

   and ... I just don't get it?

   Like, "help me learn to do this thing, but don't make me learn anything new or do anything hard" is impossible.

   I'm being vague, I should give examples.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:17 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     But the upshot of all of this is the same:

     - If you are dependent on any single company, product, or platform for your business, the can fuck you.

     - This includes things as nebulous as counting on google to continue to rank you well in search results, or to even *send traffic to web pages instead of the google info box*

     - This absolutely includes things like Linktree. What even is their business model? A DIY linktree replacement shouldn't cost more than $15 a year, and can't be turned to shit.

     - If you do most of your marketing through, for example, Instagram, you should be doing everything you can to use that marketing to get people to engage with you off of instagram.

     - If you do most of your sales through, for example, Etsy or Ebay, you should be doing everything that you can to convert customers from Etsy or Ebay to something that is fully within your control.

     - When business is good, focus on making sure it will continue to be good in the future by using the fact that business is good to push people to platforms you control.

     - When a platform goes to shit suddenly, stop putting effort or time in to it. Use whatever remaining presence you have on that platform to point towards the places you control.

     - Don't let online consume you. Even if you are a primarily web based business, find ways to protrude into the real world.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:18 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     And, like, this is a big part of what I've been focusing on and thinking about lately -- Not because a platform screwed me over, but because in-person retail (especially in Appalachia) also had a *very bad* year this year, and I'm also starting from scratch in a new industry.

     But I'm playing a long game of *how do we build a business that will still exist in thrive in 10 years* not *how do I get my revenue back to normal by this time next year*.

     So what I'm doing and what she needs to do are different.

     pettter repeated this.
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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:19 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     She asked me what I would do in response to these etsy changes, and ... well, I told her what I would have done, but it was all contingent on also having done the *other things that I would have done*.

     I would have included a coupon in every order I sent out on etsy that could be redeemed on my website directly. I would have had a website. I would have asked my Etsy customers to sign up for my mailing list. I would encourage my instagram customers to sign up for my mailing list. I would not put an etsy link on my business cards, even if Etsy was the only place I was selling.

     If I was in her situation, I would be leveraging my existing social connections, email marketing, and existing online store to offset the loss of Etsy revenue.

     But she hadn't done most of those things, so we had to talk not about how to Use those resources, but how to build them while operating at a disadvantage.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:20 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     So Etsy has rolled out some changes.

     I don't know when. I just know that they did.

     One of these changes makes it easier for people who are not selling antiques or making things by hand to sell low quality drop shipped goods on Etsy.

     One of these changes makes it harder for people who are making things by hand to do business by penalizing them much more heavily for slipped shipping dates. (This issue is probably only impacting a subset of handmade sellers, but it impacted my friend because they have had a couple of spates of bad luck with some handmade stuff lately, the upshot of which is that several of their orders in a row slipped by 6+ weeks (with the full knowledge and consent of the buyer.) Under the new etsy rules, those would be automatically refunded.)

     There's also at least some evidence of a significant drop off in search traffic, but that's neither here nor there.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:20 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     The seller that I was speaking with is trying to build a store page from scratch. She's currently handling a few orders from some of her previous repeat customers via email, but the fact that they're able to do this is hinged on some mixups that resulted in her ended up with their email addresses.

     She does not have a way, outside of etsy, to reach most of her customers. She does not have a way, outside of etsy, to be discovered. She doesn't have a way, outside of etsy, to do business without starting from scratch.

     This is a bad situation for her, because her Etsy revenue is significantly lower than it has been in previous years, both because of the changes that Etsy has made and because this year has just been rough on retail.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:21 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     I'm thinking about this today in response to Etsy rolling out some changes.

     I'm not an Etsy seller, so I can't speak to these changes directly. Only indirectly based on the long litany of complaints I sat through yesterday from someone who I've tried to help in the past, but who did not heed my advice.

     (In this particular case, they now understand why I gave them that advice, and they are working to implement it so that they can become less dependent on Etsy, but ... I mean, they're already suffering from significantly reduced income and it will be much harder to build a new channel after the old one has collapsed, rather than using the success of the old one to build the new one. )

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:22 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

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     And, of course, the answer here is that this is a ND vs NT thing, I'm sure.

     But, like, Etsy will fuck you over. Patreon will fuck you over. That's the nature of the animal!

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:23 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

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     People ask me for technical advice, seeing that I am a technical person and a business owner, about how they should start their own arts business.

     I tell them some practical stuff like "It's hard, but I think it's worthwhile", and "I think there's some merit in using platforms like Etsy and Instagram that are controlled by other people to kickstart, grow, and accelerate your operation, but I strongly recommend not being fully dependent on any platform you don't control. Run a website with a store, run a mailing list. Put as much effort in to those as you do Etsy or Instagram"

     Or sometimes it will happen slightly differently. In those cases, frequently on the fediverse, I'll make a blanket statement about something bad that a Platform has done and follow it with some variation on "This is why you have to own your platform." and sometimes also "This is why the fediverse is so important."

     In either case, I'm often met with a litany of responses and replies that are all variations on "You shouldn't judge people for being non-technical" or "not everyone has the time to run software" or some combination of reasons why I should feel bad about having rightly judged that the commercial platforms are dangerous. Sometimes I get called ableist for pointing out the fact that Facebook is actively exploiting people.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 23:22:23 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     (And then, inevitably, the platform does a platform thing that is in the interest of the platform and not the person who is using the platform, and suddenly I'm being asked "Hey, Etsy screwed me over. What are some good alternatives without running my own store?" or "Hey, Etsy screwed me over, and now I'm trying to replace 100% of the revenue I was making on etsy with my own store which I did not launch until after Etsy screwed me over, but it's not working and it's a lot of work, and I somewhow blame you personally." )

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     Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:11:18 JST Sean Kleefeld

     in reply to

     @ajroach42 This strikes me as WHY so many people have problems understanding this. They're still operating under a social contract leftover from days gone by and don't realize businesses have absolutely burnt that contract to ashes. People are working under the belief that there is a fair system in place and it should benefit everyone equally; they don't recognize it's DESIGNED to massively advantage large corporations at their expense.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:11:19 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     It is absolutely unfair that anyone should have to learn anything about web hosting and payment processing to sell things online.

     It's absolutely ableist that etsy (or whichever other free and easy platform) can't be trusted.

     It is absolutely cruel that the modern web is designed to extract as much as it can from you, and to give as little back as possible -- to make you dependent on their services, and then to make those services worse and worse at your expense.

     Blaise Pabón - controlpl4n3 repeated this.
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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:11:20 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

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     (This list of platforms absolutely includes things like paypal, square, WooPay, etc. These companies are harder to escape, but at least have a backup in line.)

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:14:23 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     So, if you find yourself wondering how to build the future, it is perhaps worth considering what Power Structures exist, and what you can replace them with.

     The Future will still need art, it will still need news and entertainment, it will still need music.

     (But it will need new ways for these things to be shared.)

     The Future will still need cups and bowls and plates (perhaps you have an interest in pottery, or glass making?) The Future will still need clothes (perhaps you want to learn to weave, or dye.)

     We'll need *fewer* things made, because so much of waht is made today goes straight to a landfill. We'll be able to recover and reuse and recycle much of what currently exists, but those things will eventually break or need to be replaced, or otherwise not be fit for purpose.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:14:24 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     Now, the above thread is at least in part also about bluesky.

     Not because I have anything against bluesky directly (some of what they've done is really interesting. I'm sure a great community is forming there. The early days of a network are always a lot of fun) but because Bluesky has investors now, and those investors are going to expect a return.

     And it'll take a while. Things will be great for a while. There will be a lot of fun to be had and a lot of attention to go around and very little that you are viscerally upset about.

     But, eventually, the piper will call the tune. You don't raise that kind of money from blockchain VCs for an altruistic project, it just doesn't happen.

     Eventually, that platform will also turn on you.

     Blaise Pabón - controlpl4n3 repeated this.
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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:14:25 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     (or BSD or whatever other open source solution you fancy. Just keep Capital out of my OS please.)

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:14:25 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     If you're a game maker and you don't sell your game through steam you are missing a huge audience of people who only buy games on steam.

     If you're a game maker and you only sell your game through steam, you are at the mercy of a company that does not have your best interest in it's core mission and will almost certainly fuck you over at some point, and you're missing a large audience that does not buy from steam.

     What's the best path forward? I dunno! Too much work, but that's the hand we've been dealt.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:14:26 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     And yes, "Own Your Platform" extends to computers.

     Using a Debian machine is a pain the ass!

     But no one can take it from me, and if the debian foundation were to suddenly disappear, I'd have a few dozen alternatives.

     Apple, it appears, is forcing signed binaries on all mac users in the name of security (but actually as a profit-making exercise.)

     Windows is feeding everything you do to your computer in to their AI, and then forcing their AI on you.

     I do not like the current state of linux, but it is the platform I can control.

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     Andrew (Television Executive) (ajroach42@retro.social)'s status on Monday, 18-Nov-2024 00:14:27 JST Andrew (Television Executive)

     in reply to

     It sucks that the only advice I can give people who are trying to Start A Thing is "whatever else you do, own your platform" but that's the core.

     Whatever else you do, own your platform.