About Us

I still remember the frustration I felt in 2020 when I was trying to scale my own decentralized platform, only to realize that most fediverse instances were struggling to turn user growth into sustainable hosting revenue. As a solo founder, I had to navigate the complex landscape of Mastodon instances, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but none of them providing clear insights into their revenue models. This experience sparked the idea for Mastodon Mesa, which I launched in 2022 as a resource for tech founders and community managers like myself, who are building decentralized platforms in the United States.

Our mission at Mastodon Mesa is to provide actionable insights and data-driven analysis on which fediverse instances are successfully monetizing their user growth, and what strategies are working for them. We track key metrics such as instance growth rates, revenue per user, and hosting costs, and provide in-depth analysis of the most successful instances. Our goal is to help founders and community managers make informed decisions about their own platforms, and to identify opportunities for collaboration and growth. Some of the key areas we focus on include:

• Instance funding models, including patronage, sponsorship, and advertising
• Revenue streams, such as premium features, data analytics, and affiliate marketing
• Community engagement strategies, including content moderation, user onboarding, and outreach programs

By providing this unique perspective, we aim to help builders of decentralized platforms create more sustainable and resilient communities.

If you’re a tech founder or community manager looking to build a thriving decentralized platform, we invite you to join the Mastodon Mesa community and stay up-to-date on the latest insights and analysis. Check out our latest reports and analysis on the Contact Us page to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.