Earn money from your social media use

We have all become accustomed to the advertisement-based business model, which shows us ads in exchange for “free” access to a given social media platform. While many people enjoy this model, it’s built on a dark pattern: harvesting your data and selling it to third parties. This data has been used in many ways, from manipulating public sentiment to targeting advertisements. 

This business model doesn't allow you to earn money based on the content of your posts, rather than how many ad views you can get. Moreover, you cannot earn money from your comments on these platforms -- even though, on platforms such as Reddit, comments make up the bulk of the content. And as internet culture has grown, comments have become more and more a source of hilarious and insightful perspectives.

Would you pay 1 cent?

What if there was a better way? There is. With microtransactions, you can earn from your comments. You can earn from many different areas where microtransactions are placed, from playlists to feeds (otherwise known as algorithms). I know what you are thinking: “Ugh, microtransactions, you mean like $5 in the in-game store? “No, nowhere close to $5, think more like 1 cent ($0.01). Would you have a problem paying 1 cent to watch your favorite creators’ videos? 

You already pay $7-$10 per month to have Netflix and Amazon prime. Paying 1 cent for a video would likely be lower than $5 per month. And on top of that, if you have a good comment -- let's say your comment got 20 thousand likes -- that would be $200, completely offsetting your cost per month and even earning you some money. 

Stop giving your value away

This is what we have done at Cuatex. We have enabled microtransactions in key areas where users create immense value and typically give it away for free. We have them in all upvotes, posts, comments, playlists and for feeds. These areas are where regular users typically create value for others -- but don’t expect, let alone earn, any compensation. 

It’s time to update the old business model and involve users in the internet economy. Stop letting the social media giants walk all over you and pretend that you are worthless unless you have millions of followers. YOU create the value -- don’t get it twisted, you are really the prize for all these platforms. But they won’t tell you that.