Worth mentioning also that the majority of my friends (Burning Man people, artists, various sex-positive/kink folks) wouldn’t be able or interested in paying for social networking either.

That’s exactly what I’m getting at when I mention that I wonder if the target market who want the features Blackbox Republic is offering would be able to get them, Katie. It’s a very well-known phenomenon that, due to larger sociopolitical issues, only a sliver of genderqueer, sexually open, and alternative people, make as much money as “mainstream” people do. Personally, while I think it would be totally awesome for all of your friends (and mine, too) to be able to jump into Blackbox Republic, the company is going to need to do something major to address the socioeconomic issues before that is likely to happen.

Then again, the argument could be put the other way: if Blackbox Republic does really well, then it’s possible that enough of a demand will be raised for these features that they’ll make it into mainstream consciousness. And if that happens, isn’t that a good thing for everyone, sex-positive or not? I think so.

Worth mentioning also that the majority of my friends (Burning Man people, artists, various sex-positive/kink folks) wouldn’t be able or interested in paying for social networking either, so there’s an added layer of why I wouldn’t end up on there. I don’t want to be in a place that’s just full of rich yuppies trolling for some young hot poon, like every other VIP club I’ve run across.

thanks for posting this!

Of course. I’m glad you also found it interesting, Clarisse. :) Blackbox Republic is doing some very cool stuff. It makes total sense for so many people to be interested in what they’re up to.

Sadly, whatever else they do, the subscription fee is going to make it a hard sell. I’ll wonder if I can’t do what I want with some combination of the existing free tools out there — I’m not really feeling a gap in my online social networking life.

I kind of feel similarly, but remember, Bitsy, you and I are way more technically savvy than the average person. Blackbox Republic has some very compelling features for people who are either unwilling or unable to become more self-reliant. The big question, I think, isn’t whether or not Blackbox Republic’s “ideal target market” exists—I think they do—but if that market is big enough and openly “sex-positive” (in whatever marketing form that takes) enough to make BBR’s business model successful. I don’t think anyone can call that one way or another for sure, yet.

I also wonder how the fee structure will re-enforce social inequalities, and wonder if it will help foster the implicit money for cute young things/sex vibe that I see quite a bit of in the rest of the world.

Yeah, I also wonder this, Bitsy. I think this might be one of the make-or-break things Blackbox Republic will have to deal with if they are going to remain on “good terms” with “the sex-positive community.” That being said, I don’t think this is a serious threat to their business model. Objective commerce doesn’t care what “the sex-positive community” thinks.

Thanks for the thoughtful and considerate post, Maymay.

Of course, Sam. I made a very concerted effort to be extremely unbiased in this post because I really love the motivations behind what you are doing and I believe your intentions are truly positive. That said, I don’t think Blackbox Republic is perfect and so it’s personally important to me to make sure that both the positive and the negative came through strongly in this post. I hope you feel I treated your work fairly.

Our team has poured their hearts out into getting to the starting line and we have to much more to do and learn. We’ll be working heard to iterate and invest where our membership finds the most value.

Breaking new ground is never easy but always worth the push. Our best!

That is so true. It’s so obvious that Blackbox Republic is pushing the envelope, and even if it were just that one thing on its own, I commend you, Sam.

Our team has poured their hearts out into getting to the starting line and we have to much more to do and learn. We’ll be working heard to iterate and invest where our membership finds the most value.

Breaking new ground is never easy but always worth the push. Our best!

I also wonder how the fee structure will re-enforce social inequalities, and wonder if it will help foster the implicit money for cute young things/sex vibe that I see quite a bit of in the rest of the world.