The Problem: It's hard to keep up with the myriad creators who make the stuff you enjoy—the podcasts, bands, webcomics, bloggers, YouTubers, novelists, and so on. Especially those who don't follow a rigid schedule.
The Solution: Feelers Online is a simple tool to help you keep track of new content and events from creators you appreciate.
Feelers Online has no algorithm, no advertising, no 'sponsored' or 'partner' content. You simply specify how you want to be notified about new stuff from your favorite creators, and updates are served in chronological order. And we never share your data with third parties.
If you're a content creator yourself, Feelers Online can help you stay in touch with your fans. There's no "boosting," or black box algorithm, or any other baloney meddling with your ability to contact the people who enjoy your work. If someone wants to see your updates, they will.
Who is this For?
Do you have favorite musicians, and you want to know when new albums drop? Are you an avid reader, and you don't want to miss your favorite author's new book? Or maybe YOU are the musician or author. Or YouTuber. Or comic artist. This tool helps people to know when their favorite creative people release new stuff or hold events.
How Does it Work?
Our business model is intentionally simple and non-toxic. When a content creator wishes to announce new content, a new event, or some other kind of update, they log in to feelers.online and make a post. The content stays on your platform(s), Feelers is just a notification service.
Depending on how each fan has set up their individual following preferences, they will see updates instantly, in a daily email digest, in a weekly email digest, or via an RSS feed.
Without Ads, How Do You Make Money?
Our monetization is a bit different. For fans, the service is totally free forever. For creators, the first 5 posts are free. After that introductory period, making a post will incur a small fee ($8 USD), but it's not due right away, any accumulated balance is deferred to the following month.
If a creator takes a hiatus, or has large gaps between releases, they won't be saddled with monthy subscription fees. If the creator isn't finding sufficient value in the service, they can walk away, and we will make zero effort to recover any outstanding balance, or charge anything akin to late fees. One only needs to pay an existing balance if one wishes to continue making new posts. Zero risk and auto-canceling.
What Do You Mean By 'Non-Toxic'?
The old ways of monetization (e.g., advertising, data collection) have shown countless times that they poison the well. They are scientifically proven to be harmful to privacy, polite society, and life satisfaction. We don't want to cause any harms.
Who Made This?
I am Alan Bellows, the founder of DamnInteresting.com. I built Feelers Online to address a pain point that I experience often. Damn Interesting is a site and podcast that publishes on an irregular schedule, so it can be difficult for our fans to know when we publish new content.
Sure, they can follow us on social media, but it's easy to miss posts in those non-chronological, algorithmically curated hellscapes. Fans can also subscribe to the Damn Interesting email list, but many folks are reluctant to subscribe to lots of separate lists, for understandable reasons.
Feelers Online is the service that I wish someone else had invented to solve this problem for me. Since they didn't, I built it myself.
Can Fans Financially Support Creators via Feelers?
Not directly. But creators can include a link where followers can support them, such as a Patreon page, or a Paypal link.
Why is Feelers Online invite-only for creators?
The two major reasons are 1) it allows us to control growth in these early stages, so we don't crash our servers; and 2) inviting another creator is a way of vouching for them, which will help keep riffraff (e.g., law breakers) away.
Is Feelers Online a social network?
No, it's just a way for people to follow and support content creators. It can be used alongside social networks, but we don't aim to become one.
Is There a Mobile App?
Not yet! We'll build one if/when it seems appropriate. This is a self-funded endeavor, so we're starting with something small and viable, and we'll grow if we need to.
I Have a Feature Request!
Okay, you can send it to support@feelers.online. But be aware that we intend to keep Feelers Online as a sharply focused resource. We'll only add features if they enhance our ability to fulfill our mission.
What If I Have Other Questions or Suggestions?
Simply send an email to hello@feelers.online. We can't reply to everything, but we'll do our best.