Hey everyone, Josh here from Indie Creator Space, and uh, so I've been thinking a lot lately about community platforms after diving deep into what actually works for content creators. Like, should you even bother with your own forum? Is Discord really the answer everyone thinks it is? And how do you avoid getting locked into someone else's walled garden? And honestly? After years of running communities on different platforms, making mistakes, watching services disappear, I figured it was time to break down the real talk about building communities that last. The Thing About Communities Nobody Wants to AdmitSo here's the deal, and I'm just gonna be real with you because that's what we do here. Most creators jump straight to Discord because it's easy, familiar, and free. But there's a fundamental problem nobody talks about. You don't actually own your Discord community. You're basically subletting space in someone else's building. Discord changes their rules? Your community could disappear overnight. All your history, all your member connections - gone. And here's the kicker - all that knowledge and discussion happening in your Discord server? It's locked behind a wall. Nobody outside your server can find it through Google. It's not searchable, not discoverable, just... trapped. Before Discord dominated everything, we had forums. And honestly? Forums solved a lot of problems we've forgotten about. Why Forums Still Make Sense (Even In 2023)Look, I know forums feel old-school, but hear me out. Forums give you something Discord never will - actual ownership of your community. With a forum, you control the data. You can export member lists for newsletters. You can move hosting if needed. And most importantly, your content is searchable. When someone googles a problem you've discussed, they can actually find your forum. I've used Xenforo for years across different projects, and their complete package keeps getting better. Yeah, it's $160 upfront plus annual support costs, but think about what you're getting - a platform that won't disappear because some VC-backed company changes strategy. Their cloud hosting starts at $54/month if you don't want to deal with server management. That includes backups, security, the whole thing. Compare that to paying Discord Nitro for basic features that should be free. There's also Invision Community (formerly IPB) with similar capabilities but different pricing tiers. Both are solid choices if you're serious about community building. The Discord Reality CheckDon't get me wrong - Discord isn't evil. It revolutionized online communities by making voice chat accessible and creating that seamless chat experience we all got used to. But here's what bothers me about Discord evangelism. Everyone acts like Discord is the only option, but they're ignoring some massive downsides. First, information decay. In active Discord servers, conversations disappear into chat history. Someone asks a great question, gets a detailed answer, then it's buried under hours of random chat. That knowledge is effectively lost. Second, the walled garden problem I mentioned. Your Discord server might as well not exist for anyone who isn't already a member. Zero discoverability. Third, platform dependency. Discord's algorithm changes, pricing shifts, feature removals - you have zero control over any of it. Guilded: The Alternative Nobody Talks AboutSpeaking of alternatives, let's talk about Guilded for a minute. It's basically Discord with features that should have been standard from day one. Animated emotes? Free. High-quality voice chat? Built-in. Forums, calendars, scheduling tools? All included without needing third-party bots cluttering up your member list. The grouping system alone makes Guilded worth considering. You can organize different sections of your community - like separate areas for different games or topics - and let people opt into only what interests them. But here's the problem with Guilded: getting people to move. Discord has that mind-share lock. People hear "Discord alternative" and immediately dismiss it as a knockoff. Which is frustrating because Guilded actually innovated features Discord later copied. Matrix: For the Privacy-FocusedIf you're more security-conscious, there's Matrix with Element as the interface. It's open source, privacy-focused, with end-to-end encryption for sensitive discussions. The downside? It's missing some quality-of-life features, and again, you're dealing with the walled garden problem. Plus, convincing people to join yet another platform when they're already Discord-comfortable is an uphill battle. What You Actually Need (Spoiler: It Depends)Look, there's no perfect solution. Each platform serves different needs. If you want quick community setup with minimal hassle, Discord works. Just understand you're building on rented land. If you want long-term ownership and searchable content, forums are still the way to go. Yeah, it's more work upfront, but you're building something that lasts. If you want Discord-style features without the limitations, Guilded is worth exploring. The learning curve is minimal if you're already familiar with Discord. If privacy and open source matter to your community, Matrix fits that niche. The Sustainability QuestionBut here's what I think about most when choosing platforms, and maybe this sounds obvious but stick with me. What happens to your community when the platform changes? We've seen this before. Reddit's API apocalypse. Twitter becoming... whatever it is now. Google killing projects left and right. Facebook changing algorithms that destroy page reach. Building on someone else's platform always carries risk. The question is whether the convenience outweighs the potential for disruption. Starting Smart: Think Long-TermHere's what I'd recommend, and this is based on watching communities rise and fall over the years. Start with your goals, not the platform. Are you building a quick fan community around your content? Discord might be fine. Are you creating a knowledge base for your niche? Forums make more sense. Do you need real-time collaboration with persistent knowledge? Maybe a hybrid approach. The most successful creators I know don't rely on single platforms. They use email lists for direct communication, websites for searchable content, and chat platforms for real-time interaction. What Actually MattersLook, I don't know which platforms will succeed or which communities will thrive in five years. That's not really the point. What matters is building something sustainable that serves your audience instead of just following whatever's trendy. Whether that's forums, Discord servers, or some format that doesn't exist yet. The barriers are lower than ever, the tools keep getting better, and there's room for different approaches to coexist. Your TurnSo here's what I want to know - what's your community platform experience been like? Are you stuck in Discord because that's where everyone expects you to be? Or have you found success with alternatives? Because honestly, the best community platform is the one that serves your specific needs, not the one everyone else is using. Check out our community at https://indiecreator.community if you want to see forums in action. We've got both a website community and a Discord server, because sometimes hybrid approaches just make sense. If this helped clarify the community platform landscape, let me know in the comments. And if you made it this far through all my rambling about community platforms, thanks for sticking with me. Until next time, later taters. --- Links mentioned in this post: Xenforo, Invision Community, Guilded, Matrix/Element The Independent CreatorThe Independent Creator | The Power of Online Communities...In this episode, we dive into the power of online communities for independent creators. We start by exploring the influence of forums as platforms for gathering and sharing information, highlightin...

Hey everyone, Josh here from Indie Creator Space, and uh, so I've been thinking a lot lately about video podcasting after diving deep into the whole setup process. Like, should you even bother making the jump from audio? What do you actually need to get started? And how do you keep everything organized without your brain melting? And honestly? After going through this whole process, making mistakes, figuring out what works, I figured it was time to break down the real talk about video podcasting. The Thing About Video Podcasts Nobody Wants to AdmitSo here's the deal, and I'm just gonna be real with you because that's what we do here. Video podcasting grew up from the audio podcast movement, but it's happening for reasons that might surprise you. Before the pandemic, podcasts were commute content, right? You'd spend an hour driving to work, so you'd throw on a podcast to create that buffer between home and the rat race. Music gets old, so podcasts filled that gap perfectly. Then everything changed. People weren't going anywhere during lockdowns, so traditional podcast listenership actually dropped off. But the video side? That started expanding because people were home, craving that visual connection, wanting something more engaging than just audio. The audience shifted, and honestly, that audience doesn't always understand how RSS feeds work or want to dig through Spotify's podcast section. Video made podcasts accessible to people who never would have found them otherwise. YouTube Finally Figured Out Podcasts (Sort Of)And speaking of accessibility, YouTube finally launched their podcast feature after what felt like forever. Google killed Google Podcasts - rest its soul - and integrated everything into YouTube because, well, that's what Google does. They bring things to the world, then take them behind the barn. But here's the thing about YouTube's podcast setup: it's basically just playlists with a podcast tag. That's it. You create a playlist, tell YouTube it's a podcast, and suddenly you get a nice, organized podcast tab on your channel instead of everything being jumbled together in your videos section. Is it revolutionary? No. But it's organized, which is exactly what we needed. Before this, finding specific episodes was a complete mess. The weird part is YouTube's algorithm still doesn't really get what podcasts are. You'll see random NBC News videos showing up as podcasts, while actual podcast content gets buried. But hey, it's progress. What You Actually Need (Spoiler: Less Than You Think)Look, I started with a C920 webcam and a $20 USB mic from Amazon - you know, one of those bright blue ones that come in a kit with an arm. Total investment: maybe $100. You don't need gear acquisition syndrome. You don't need that Shure SM7B everyone talks about. You definitely don't need a DSLR with expensive lenses just to get background blur. Your phone probably has a better camera than most webcams anyway. Throw it on a tripod, stack of books, or dig out that selfie stick from your closet. Any decent phone from the past six years will work fine. If you got a C920 during the pandemic because work demanded video conferencing, that's still perfectly capable. It's been around for decades and it's not the best, but starting out? You don't need the best. The most important piece is your microphone. A decent USB mic in the $30-60 range will get you started. I actually started with an XLR mic going into a $20 converter box, but honestly, that's probably overkill for beginners. Starting Smart: Audio First, Video LaterHere's what I'd recommend, and this is based on my own journey. Start with audio only. Do maybe 10-12 episodes just focusing on your content, getting comfortable with the format, finding your rhythm. Then add video when you're ready. That's exactly what I did - started audio-only, then decided to add the visual component once I had the basics down. Why? Because video adds complexity you don't need when you're figuring out what you want to say and how you want to say it. Audio lets you focus on the actual podcasting part without worrying about lighting or what your hair is doing. Where to Actually Host Your EpisodesNow here's where people get stuck. You need somewhere to upload your episodes after recording, and there are some solid options that won't break the bank. I use Captivate, and I'll be straight about why. For $20 a month, you get unlimited shows on one account. That's huge because some hosting companies make you pay separately for each podcast, which gets expensive fast. You get 30,000 downloads per month, which sounds crazy high until you realize most new podcasts get maybe 10-300 downloads per episode. If you're hitting 30,000 downloads monthly, you're probably making money from the show anyway, so upgrading to their $50 professional plan makes sense. What I really like about Captivate is the complete package: podcast website, guest booking features, analytics, even donation integration. Everything in one place instead of cobbling together different services. The DIY Route: CastopodIf you're more technically inclined and want complete control, there's Castopod. It's free, open source, and you can self-host it on your own server. The catch? You handle everything - server costs, maintenance, storage, bandwidth. It's awesome if you have the skills and want that control, but it's definitely not the easy path. If you're already spinning up servers on providers like Hetzner and know your way around server management, Castopod gives you everything the paid platforms do. Just with more work on your end. Staying Organized Without Your Brain MeltingAnd here's where most people struggle, including me. How do you keep track of episode ideas, recording schedules, editing tasks, publishing dates, and all the other moving pieces? I use Notion with a creator dashboard template from Sam Woodall. Full disclosure: I'm an affiliate for Notion, but I started using it way before that because it actually solved my organization problems. What I love about Sam's template is it's built for smaller creators, not massive production teams. You can use as much or as little as you need. Don't do B-roll? Ignore that section. Don't write scripts? Skip those templates. It breaks everything down into manageable chunks - content vault, publishing schedules, separate sections for different content types. Like having a command center for your creative output without being overwhelming. The Reality CheckBut here's what I think about most when planning content, and maybe this sounds obvious but stick with me. Video podcasting is way more demanding than audio-only. With audio, I could record in pajamas at midnight if inspiration struck. Video? You need decent lighting, presentable clothes, a clean background. It's just more to think about. The sustainability question is real. Platforms push constant output just to stay relevant, and everyone burns out eventually. That's why I think focusing on creator wellbeing instead of just engagement metrics actually matters long-term. What Actually MattersLook, I don't know which platforms will succeed or which tools will still exist in five years. That's not really the point. What matters is building something sustainable that connects with people instead of just feeding algorithm demands. Whether that's video podcasts, audio shows, or some format that doesn't exist yet. The barriers are lower than ever, the tools keep getting better, and there's room for different approaches to coexist. Your TurnSo here's what I want to know - are you thinking about starting a podcast? What's holding you back? The technical stuff, time commitment, or just not knowing where to begin? Because honestly, the best time to start is when you have something you want to talk about, not when you have perfect equipment or a flawless strategy. If this helped clarify anything, let me know in the comments. And if you made it this far through all my rambling, thanks for sticking with me. Until next time, later taters. The Independent CreatorThe Independent Creator | Hosting Hurdles & Content Clari...In this riveting episode, we journey through the dynamic world of video podcasting. How do you transition from a novice to a seasoned videocaster? What are the best platforms to host your visual st...

Hey everyone, Josh here from Indie Creator Hub, and I just wrapped up a stream where we dove deep into the current state of Twitter alternatives. Honestly? After spending real time on Threads, Mastodon, and Blue Sky, I'm starting to think the problem isn't finding the perfect Twitter replacement. The problem is that we're all still thinking like Twitter users. Threads: The Fire Hose Nobody Asked ForSo Threads exploded out of the gate, hit 100 million users in the first few days, then lost about 80% of them just as fast. And look, I was there for that initial chaos. It wasn't just a fire hose of content, it was like standing under Niagara Falls getting pelted with brand posts and random accounts you'd never heard of. The first day was completely insane. I spent more time hitting mute and block than actually engaging with anything meaningful. Every brand that had fled Twitter just dumped their entire posting strategy onto Threads without thinking about whether it made sense. But here's the thing that actually matters. Once that initial flood calmed down and they added the Following feed, Threads became surprisingly usable. Not perfect, but usable. The problem is they're still mobile-only with no desktop access, and honestly, that's killing adoption among creators who actually want to engage with their communities instead of just scrolling on their phones. The Instagram account linking situation is still a mess too. You can't delete your Threads account without nuking your Instagram, which means people are stuck in this weird limbo where they're afraid to fully commit because they might lose years of Instagram content if they want to bail. Mastodon: Great Concept, Terrible OnboardingThen there's Mastodon, which has all the right ideas and the worst possible execution for mainstream adoption. The decentralized instance model is brilliant in theory. No single point of failure, no billionaire can buy the whole thing and run it into the ground, communities can actually control their own spaces. But telling someone to "just pick an instance" is like handing them a hammer and saying "go build a house." It's not that people are stupid, it's that we've trained them for decades to expect centralized platforms where you sign up once and you're done. The growing pains are real too. Every time Twitter does something particularly stupid and drives another wave of users to Mastodon, instances crash because they're run by volunteers with their own money, not billion-dollar server farms. And when an instance admin gets burned out from harassment and shuts down, thousands of users lose their communities overnight. That said, when Mastodon works, it really works. No algorithm pushing engagement bait, no ads, just chronological feeds of people and topics you actually chose to follow. It's what social media felt like before it became an attention extraction machine. Blue Sky: The Exclusive Club That's Missing the PointBlue Sky is Jack Dorsey's attempt to rebuild Twitter with federation, but they're doing it through invite-only access that's creating artificial scarcity. It's like the early Gmail invitation system, except Gmail had Google's infrastructure behind it and a clear value proposition. The AT Protocol they built instead of using ActivityPub is interesting from a technical standpoint, but it fragments the ecosystem. Why build a new wheel when ActivityPub already works and connects to the wider Fediverse? More concerning is their handling of moderation issues. When marginalized communities are saying the platform isn't responding fast enough to harassment, and your response is to stay invite-only and work on features, you're missing the entire point of why people left Twitter in the first place. The slow growth strategy might work for a social network launching in 2010, but in 2023, if you can't catch the fire when Twitter hands you multiple opportunities on a silver platter, you're probably not going to catch it at all. The Pattern Nobody Wants to AcknowledgeHere's what using all three platforms taught me. We're not just looking for Twitter alternatives, we're looking for communities that don't treat us like content factories. But most of us are still approaching these platforms with Twitter habits, expecting the same dopamine hit from the same engagement patterns. Threads gives you the familiar experience but keeps you locked into Meta's ecosystem. Mastodon gives you control but demands you learn new concepts. Blue Sky promises federation while keeping most people locked out entirely. None of them are wrong, exactly. But none of them are solving the fundamental problem either. What This Means for Independent CreatorsThe diversity isn't accidental. It's what happens when people get tired of being at the mercy of corporate algorithm changes and start building alternatives. But the uncomfortable truth is that platform choice only matters if you're willing to actually build community instead of just broadcasting into the void. I'm on all three platforms, and you know what works best? Actually engaging with people instead of trying to game whatever algorithm might or might not exist. Shocking concept, right? The future isn't about finding the one perfect Twitter replacement. It's about having enough viable alternatives that creators can make choices based on what actually serves their communities instead of just accepting whatever the algorithm decides this week. Moving ForwardLook, I don't know which of these platforms will still be around in five years. What matters is whether they're pushing the ecosystem toward treating creators and users like humans instead of engagement metrics. Twitter's implosion created space for experimentation. Some of these experiments will fail, others will evolve into something better than what we lost. But only if we're willing to actually try them instead of just complaining that they're not exactly like Twitter used to be. Your turn. What would it take for you to actually commit to building community on an alternative platform? Because the future of social media depends not just on the platforms that get built, but on the communities willing to make them work. Let me know in the comments or hit me up on whatever platform you actually check regularly. And if this resonated with you, become a creator supporter at indiecreator.community. Until next time, keep creating independently. JoshB The Independent CreatorThe Independent Creator | Unraveling Threads - Mastodon T...What is the deal with Threads, everyone flocked to it and now over half are gone. Mastodon continues to be a powerhouse for the open-source crowd and that's perfectly alright. Bluesky continues to ...

Hey everyone, Josh here from Indie Creator Hub, and honestly? I just wrapped up our first live stream in way too long, and my brain is buzzing with thoughts about where these alternative platforms are actually headed. We covered three major updates tonight, and each one tells a different story about what independent streaming could look like if we stop accepting the status quo. The Thing About SharePlay That Actually MattersSo I got alpha access to SharePlay last week, and look, I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. The platform has serious potential, but they're being smart about not rushing things. Ten hours of streaming time per week during alpha testing, no dashboard access, just an RTMP server and streaming key. Sounds limiting, right? But here's what struck me during my time streaming there. The video quality was genuinely good. Like, really good. No transcoding issues, clean 1080p source, and the monetization system with their Play Coins actually makes sense. Think Twitch bits, but the animations don't corrupt your actual stream because they're overlays on the video player, not baked into the feed. The thing SharePlay gets right is restraint. They're not trying to be everything to everyone immediately. When I suggested ideas like partner program perks, longer clip storage, maybe some transcoding options for different tiers, it felt like they were actually listening instead of just nodding along. But here's the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to talk about. SharePlay needs viewers more than streamers right now. We've seen this pattern before with Glimesh, with Brime, with every platform that focused on courting creators without building an audience first. You can throw millions at streamers, but if nobody's watching, what's the point? LiveSpace's Bold Move (And Why It Might Actually Work)LiveSpace just dropped into open beta, and they're doing something I haven't seen before. They removed viewer counts from stream thumbnails. Just gone. No more "this person has 500 viewers so they must be good, this person has 3 so they must suck." It forces you to actually look at the content instead of just following the crowd. Wild concept, right? But the real news is what their community manager Ashley announced during a stream with another creator. They're offering 1,000 creators 100% sub revenue split (minus processing fees, so realistically around 95%) for one full year. That's not a typo. One thousand creators, essentially keeping everything they earn for twelve months. Now look, this could be a brilliant community-building strategy or a spectacular way to burn through investor money. The bet they're making is that creators will fall in love with the platform and stick around after the year is up. It's either confident or desperate, and honestly, I'm not sure which. What LiveSpace understands is that streaming platforms need to be actual platforms, not just streaming services. Their Twitter-like community feed, subscriber-only posts, browser-based streaming options. They're thinking about the entire creator ecosystem, not just the live content part. Owncast 0.1: The Quiet Revolution ContinuesAnd then there's Owncast, which just released version 0.1 with updates that sound boring but are actually game-changing for anyone running their own server. Resizable chat windows, pop-out chat, automatic cleanup of old stream segments in object storage. This is the thing about Owncast that makes it different from everything else we talked about tonight. You control it. Completely. No algorithm changes, no policy updates that destroy your reach, no corporate decisions that wipe out your community overnight. The Federation angle matters more than people realize. When your Owncast server federates with other platforms through ActivityPub, you're building connections that no single company can break. Your audience follows you, not the platform you happen to be streaming on this week. The Pattern Nobody Wants to AcknowledgeHere's what watching SharePlay, LiveSpace, and Owncast side by side taught me. Each represents a different approach to the same fundamental problem: corporate platforms treat creators as content factories, not humans. SharePlay is betting on quality and restraint. LiveSpace is throwing money at the problem and hoping community features stick. Owncast is saying "forget all of that, just own your stuff." All three approaches could work. But they only work if we stop treating platform choice like some kind of loyalty test and start thinking about what actually serves creators and communities. What This Means for Independent CreatorsThe diversity of options we're seeing isn't accidental. It's what happens when people get tired of being at the mercy of corporate algorithm changes and start building alternatives. But here's the thing that really hit me during tonight's stream. None of these platforms matter if we don't actually use them. SharePlay can have the best video quality in the world, LiveSpace can offer 100% revenue splits, Owncast can give you complete control, but without communities willing to follow creators to new platforms, they're just expensive experiments. The future of independent content creation isn't about finding the one perfect platform. It's about having enough viable alternatives that creators can make choices based on what actually works for their communities instead of just accepting whatever the algorithm decides this week. Moving ForwardLook, I don't know which of these platforms will still be around in five years. That's not even the right question. What matters is whether they're pushing the entire ecosystem toward treating creators like humans instead of content machines. Tonight's stream reminded me why I started doing this in the first place. Alternative platforms aren't just backup plans for when the big guys mess up. They're experiments in doing things differently from the ground up. Your TurnSo here's what I want to know, and seriously, call me out in the comments if you think I'm being too optimistic about any of this. What would it take for you to actually try streaming on an alternative platform? Is it about features, audience size, monetization options, or something else entirely? Because the future of independent streaming depends not just on the platforms that get built, but on the communities willing to build something new instead of just complaining about what already exists. If you made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through all my rambling about server configurations and revenue splits. Become a creator supporter if this resonated with you, and let me know your thoughts in the comments or our Discord. I read every single one, even the ones that tell me Owncast is too complicated and I should just stick to Twitch. Until next time, keep creating independently. JoshB The Independent CreatorThe Independent Creator | Live Space - Shareplay Alpha -...Pilot episode but we do pack a lot of information into our first one though. Going over the latest experience I had while testing out the new live-streaming service, Shareplay. Currently in closed ...