I feel like there's a little Michael Scott in my head conducting my exit interview saying "who do you think you are?" and it's the perfect mix of aggressive and genuinely inquisitive. In this context, he's asking me who I think I am, trying to move my content from Instagram to a platform where there's a tipping option; who do I think I am that I deserve to be compensated in any way for the pictures I take, the stories I tell, or the songs I sing?
I'm not 100% sure that I do. Deserve it, I mean. Content creators are a dime a dozen-anyone can take a picture with their front-facing camera (like the one featured on this post) and call it "content". There are definitely some creatives out there that I feel produce work that is on another level, that deserves to be paid for, but I'm not convinced I'm in that upper echelon of creators.
That being said, I'm not sure the tipping economy as it pertains to content creators is about what is "owed", but rather what is seen as a worthwhile exchange to the individual consumer. If someone enjoys a certain creator's content that is shared, free of charge, on any given platform, I don't see believe they have an obligation to contribute financially to that creator's online presence. But it would be nice to have the option.
So I see this as an option for people who enjoy my work to show some support. I produce a wide array of content due to my varied interests, but not on a consistent enough basis that I think it should all be locked up behind a Patreon monthly subscription. The content I produce month-to-month ebbs and flows, and that works for me, for now. While I do intend to start publishing content here for "members only" at some point in the near future, I believe in continuing to share much of my work for free, in perpetuity. Ultimately, I create content to be consumed, and I'm hoping this platform will facilitate that consumption far better than Instagram currently does.