I’m fairly new and don’t 100% understand it yet, but instances are run on servers that require money. Are we heading towards seeing ads or subscriptions to raise funds instead of relying on donations to cover overhead?
Especially with the influx of new users. Hardware upgrades are needed.
Shockingly- I’ve heard from a few of my teacher friends that the upcoming generation isn’t that computer savvy. (EDIT- “traditional” computers that is).
We’re starting to see the “tablet kids” grow up. They were raised with iPads and iPhones. And they didn’t have to deal with figuring out how to “deal with the inner workings” to download a bunch of computer programs. Their typing skills are apparently not that great as well for the same reason.
I confidently told my retired parents that I thought we were approaching a world where self-hosting and open source would be far more common, I’m disappointed that it sounds as if I overestimated computer literacy in the new generation :(
The average person is just as unlikely as ever to understand the processed behind the tools (conputers) they use. But the nerdy kids of each generation have more access to knowledge that lets them nerd out even harder. And the connectivity of the internet gets ideas shared easily. If someone is interested in a hobby these days they have a knowledge base that only the most dedicated nerds had back in the day.
This is the consequence of so many years of idiot-proofing things. While not necessarily a bad thing most of the time, having shit that “just works” absolutely ruins troubleshooting skills. I see it all the time with my nieces and nephews.
But how long until the fediverse is monetized?
Can confirm. I’ve heard the exact same thing from several teacher friends as well.