> "mastodon is a technology, not a product" - it doesn't have a business model, a way to scale and grow like a business.
I'd agree with 2/3rds of that. Mastodon is a technology, not a product, and it doesn't have a business model.
But that does not mean that it can't scale and grow—it means that it doesn't have any way to turn scaling and growing into money. email is a technology; javascript is a technology, the microchip is a technology. All of those technologies have seen tremendous growth, and none of them have made money (though products using them certainly have).
I suspect that, if Mastodon grows, it will be precisely because it is a technology, not a product. Making money isn't the only way to grow.
I'd agree with 2/3rds of that. Mastodon is a technology, not a product, and it doesn't have a business model.
But that does not mean that it can't scale and grow—it means that it doesn't have any way to turn scaling and growing into money. email is a technology; javascript is a technology, the microchip is a technology. All of those technologies have seen tremendous growth, and none of them have made money (though products using them certainly have).
I suspect that, if Mastodon grows, it will be precisely because it is a technology, not a product. Making money isn't the only way to grow.