#platformbias — Public Fediverse posts

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF RUNNING A MICROBUSINESS ON WELFARE
May 18, 2025

Creating content online is not free. In 2024, I spent over €4,300 just to stay visible — while living on welfare and earning nothing. Domains, hosting, tools... Every cent went into surviving the algorithm. And even in 2025, after cutting everything, I’m still paying over €2,600 a year — with no revenue. This isn’t growth. This is the price of existing as an independent creator.
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WHY €0 REVENUE STILL COMES WITH A €4,300 BILL

People say creating content online is free. All you need is a computer, a phone, and a spark of inspiration. In reality, when you’re running a microbusiness with zero revenue while living on welfare, every tool, every hosting plan, every service becomes a loss-making investment — but one that’s necessary just to exist in the digital ecosystem. This isn’t about comfort or startup luxuries. It’s about the bare minimum required to appear professional: a website, a storefront, basic tools to publish content, and a presence convincing enough to answer the inevitable question from a potential sponsor: “Where can we find you?”
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THE RECURRING BASELINE

Here’s a realistic breakdown of my annual fixed costs:
– 7 domain names: €400/year
– WordPress hosting: €100/year
– Online store: €600/year
– Booking system: €250/year
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“SECONDARY” SERVICES (THAT ARE ANYTHING BUT)

What people often call “extras” are, in truth, just as essential for building a professional brand, creating content, and distributing it effectively:
– Brave VPN: €10/month
– Shutterstock (stock images): €50/year
– RadioBoss Cloud (self-hosted radio): €6/month (lifetime discounted rate)
– Internet: €35/month (€400/year — nearly a full month of welfare)
– ChatGPT (paid plan): €25/month
– Colorcinch (thumbnail design effects): €8/month
That doesn’t even include electricity (~€300/month) or rent — because they’re considered “vital” and don’t appear in business accounting, even if they’re non-negotiable.
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WHAT WE HAD TO CUT

Even with an already minimal setup, survival meant sacrificing tools:
– YouTube Premium: €25/month
– Weebly: €20/month (replaced with WordPress)
– Mobile app project: scrapped (licenses + updates + devs = unsustainable)
– Two domains dropped: hsl.show and housestation.live (saving €70/year)
– Fathom Analytics: €20/month → lost all stats from 2022 to 2024
– Captivate podcast hosting: €20/month
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WHAT WE REPLACED

YouTube was replaced by Infomaniak VOD, a Swiss-based platform costing €20/month. It wasn’t some anti-corporate stance. It was survival logic. We paid YouTube to boost our content — and then got buried by the algorithm just after. If paying doesn’t buy long-term visibility, what’s the point?
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FINAL THOUGHT

Even with no revenue and a completely stripped-down toolset, my business expenses still exceed €2,600 a year. Before cuts, that figure was over €4,300. And I’m living on welfare. This isn’t growth. This isn’t scaling. This is the cost of simply staying visible.
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||#HSLdiary #HSLmichael

#IndieCreator #Welfare #PlatformBias #YouTube #DigitalWork

#epartheid: Social engineering under the guise of curating discourse.

#fediverse #decentralization #socialmedia #censorship #onlinefreedom #techethics #privacy #internetgovernance #digitalrights #platformbias #algorithmicbias #freeexpression #independentmedia #echochamber #onlinecommunity #techaccountability #contentmoderation #communitygovernance #digitalexclusion #isolationchamber

#epartheid: The illusion of inclusion, the reality of exclusion.

#fediverse #decentralization #socialmedia #censorship #onlinefreedom #techethics #privacy #internetgovernance #digitalrights #platformbias #algorithmicbias #freeexpression #independentmedia #echochamber #onlinecommunity #techaccountability #contentmoderation #communitygovernance #digitalexclusion #isolationchamber

#epartheid: Echo Chambers labeled as "Safe Spaces."

#fediverse #decentralization #socialmedia #censorship #onlinefreedom #techethics #privacy #internetgovernance #digitalrights #platformbias #algorithmicbias #freeexpression #independentmedia #echochamber #onlinecommunity #techaccountability #contentmoderation #communitygovernance #digitalexclusion #isolationchamber

#epartheid: Moderation policies designed to silence dissent.

#fediverse #decentralization #socialmedia #censorship #onlinefreedom #techethics #privacy #internetgovernance #digitalrights #platformbias #algorithmicbias #freeexpression #independentmedia #echochamber #onlinecommunity #techaccountability #contentmoderation #communitygovernance #digitalexclusion #isolationchamber

#epartheid: Censorship rebranded as Community Guidelines.

#fediverse #decentralization #socialmedia #censorship #onlinefreedom #techethics #privacy #internetgovernance #digitalrights #platformbias #algorithmicbias #freeexpression #independentmedia #echochamber #onlinecommunity #techaccountability #contentmoderation #communitygovernance #digitalexclusion #isolationchamber

@Mastodon #Mastodon

#epartheid: digital isolation disguised as moderation.

#fediverse #decentralization #opensource #socialmedia #censorship #onlinefreedom #techethics #privacy #internetgovernance #digitalrights #platformbias #algorithmicbias #freeexpression #independentmedia #echochamber #onlinecommunity #techaccountability #contentmoderation #selfhosting #communitygovernance #digitalinclusion #isolationchamber