Bill Ottman, CEO of Minds.com, started the social media platform with a mission. He wanted to give creators control over how they monetize their content, provide transparency, and protect free speech. In addition, Minds intentionally never integrated Google ads. Ottman felt that too many platforms fell into adding the surveillance advertising system, making them reliant on collecting personal data from users. Minds avoided that revenue model.
Now, to combat what Ottman calls the “centralized self-appointed fact-checking communities,” Minds will give users the ability to request information from their favorite experts. Fans can attach monetary offers to get a personal response via post or video directly from the creator. Unlike Superchat and other monetized interactive social forums, fans are only charged if the creator responds. Supermind operates on cash and cryptocurrency to ensure global accessibility.
“Every day, millions of people dedicate hours creating content for social media platforms and receive little to no compensation. The few platforms that do provide monetization rely on surveillance-based advertising and, in some cases, take up to 30% of a creator’s revenue. Minds is striving to change this dynamic by giving creators the tools they need to monetize their time, grow their audience and be in control of their livelihoods,” Ottman said.
Ottman believes this type of direct communication will lead to a better dynamic between creators and followers, in which both sides of the equation feel valued and respected. He feels it is a needed addition to membership forums such as Substack and Patreon. “This allows users to approach content creators with a specific question or request with a one-time offer rather than an ongoing donation.” Minds also offers a membership model, but Ottman believes Supermind will give a broader range of creators an option to monetize their work.
According to Ottman, Cameo, a service focused on the entertainment industry that allows users to request that their favorite personalities create personalized messages, proved a point. However, there is room to maximize the potential of the concept Cameo is based on. Right now, Supermind is intentionally open-ended. Ottman wants to see what kind of natural requests and business arrangements occur as users and creators or experts start to interact through the service.
A new twist on the gig economy is possible. In the beta, users asked questions about an influencer’s area of expertise, similar to Superchat on YouTube. Ottman also said artists had received commissions for original work. He sees opportunities for freelance professionals of all kinds and possibly even traditional consulting going forward. Currently, all responses are shared publicly on the platform. However, Ottman sees the potential for private transactions in the future, where an expert can work on a specific project or question that gets delivered only to the user or organization that paid for it.
Recommended: Biden Wingman Merrick Garland Set to Announce Probe of ‘Homegrown’ ‘Election Infrastructure Threats’
In addition to monetization, Ottman feels creators and experts will benefit from the real-time feedback Supermind offers. In some cases, like with professional gamers, it will allow them to create more of the content their audience is requesting. For writers, it may open up clarification, expansion, or investigation opportunities. It could give politicians a new window into public opinion or opportunities to educate the public on an issue. Long term, Otten sees opportunities for brands and organizations in addition to individual creators and influencers.
To show me how the system worked, Ottman sent me a Supermind request. In full transparency, I received the equivalent of $.20 to answer it. Before you agree to answer the question, the system warns you that you cannot delete it later. It shows up in the creator’s feed called with the amount of the offer and the request:
Once the request is accepted, it takes you to the screen to respond:
To send a Supermind offer, a user must create a profile for payment. The creator also sets up a profile to receive compensation. Cash payments get processed through Stripe. If users prefer, they can attach their crypto wallets. Minds also has a token system where creators can accumulate tokens that will convert to cash or crypto once users enter their payment information.
The new service is a giant step towards the democratization of expertise. The user community will select experts rather than having them chosen by legacy media or other institutions. Imagine if Americans could have directly asked Dr. Peter McCullough or America’s Frontline Doctors questions throughout the pandemic. Their answers would have remained publicly available and might have broken through the censorship from the legacy media and social media companies.
However, part of removing the gatekeeper places more responsibility on the users and creators. Minds will not verify a content creator’s education, expertise, or identity. In the beta, this has not caused any issues. Eventually, Minds will add a rating system to assist users in verifying a creator’s credentials. Until then, Ottman advises users to do some research or access creators and experts they are already familiar with.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member