Ask HN: Diaspora Seeds, Proliferation and Cost
Obviously not everyone will be able to host their own seed, for a variety of reasons. That means to truly penetrate the "social sphere" enough to reach a tipping point of mass adoption many people with have rent a server. Like with any other use of a server, there are operating costs that must be taken into account.
My question(s) is(are): Among those who choose to rent a seed (or lack the resources to host their own) will there be a willingness to pay for the use of this seed?
If there is a flat rental cost, will that ultimately deter so many people that a tipping point can't be reached?
Is there a privacy-centric mode of generating income that will effectively have these seeds pay for themselves?
There seems to be a fine balancing act between whether the added privacy and benefits of decentralization will outweigh the costs of renting a seed to the point of which a mass-adoption can still take place. But where is that middle ground?
What are your thoughts?