Shilo

I'm on a quest that might seem insane. I've built a platform where nearly every dime of value created will be paid back to its community. It’s the only viable option we have left. If you've been paying even the slightest bit of attention, you've noticed that everything is changing. The world is being remade. We are in an era where humanity is being devalued and stripped away at every turn. I'm sure you've seen it—it's everywhere. From faceless kiosks demanding tips to billion-dollar tech companies attempting to reduce us to sets of eyes, thumbs, and training data to be sold. People deserve better. The cavalry isn’t coming. Almost every major social and AI platform has completely bought into wholesale exploitation. And governmental institutions are woefully inadequate. My answer to at least some of this madness is Shilo. Shilo is a platform built on these basic values: Everything can't be disposable. Everything can't be exploitative. If there are spaces for everything meaningless and hollow, there must also be spaces for everything that matters. We don't exist as singular creatures. We all have varied interests, hopes, and desires. We all have something worth preserving. We are more than passive observers to be drained for money. Each of us has something worth investing time and attention into. So, we deserve a platform that allows us to create spaces for all the things WE value IRL and online, first and foremost, with social considerations being secondary to that. Our collective presence is what makes any online platform valuable. So, when our presence generates value, that value should be shared with us. If someone has paid for ad space on a platform you contribute to, some of that money should go to you. Full stop. So, how does Shilo work? You can create spaces for anything you love, either online or IRL. The content can include photos, videos, text, audio messages, links, with much more to come. Spaces can be shared with people you know, the public, or kept completely private. We've been testing with a small group, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I'm opening Shilo to 500 new people. Once that number is reached, we'll close access. This is to ensure that new features are tailored to the needs and values of our community. After the initial group is satisfied, we'll gradually invite more people. Right now, there is no charge to use the app. But there will be a minimum $5 monthly fee in the future. Why? Because "free" has always been a lie. It's an invitation to exploitation and techno-peasantry. Every action we take on "free" (and even some paid) platforms is converted into billions of dollars of value for them as they sell our data to the highest bidder. What do we get in return? That's not acceptable. The fee we pay for Shilo is a recognition of the platform's value and ours. My goal is to build a community so substantial and remarkable that advertisers and data merchants must engage. The vast majority of the value created will be paid to the community. Ok, that was a lot. Thank you for indulging me. :)

@s_marlowe you hit a home run with this product launch. It's all about life's important moments! Kudos for creating such a game-changing product. Keep it up!

I like your privacy-first approach, but how are you going to keep users hooked to this app? This seems roughly very similar to Reddit, but they don't charge. Are you planning a free plan/trial?