The Viral Honey Exposé
A recent viral video exposed potential issues with Honey, the popular coupon savings browser extension. The video alleges that Honey has been hurting content creators through its affiliate marketing practices, unbeknownst to the many YouTubers who have promoted it.
But this may just be the tip of the iceberg. Enter Pie.org, a new venture from one of Honey’s co-founders that threatens to middleman the entire YouTube advertising ecosystem.
What is Pie.org?
Pie.org is a product of “The Peoples Internet Experiment,” a California-based company co-founded by Ryan Hudson, who also co-founded Honey. The service claims to pay users for watching ads on YouTube, Twitch, Spotify, and “everywhere else you go online.”
On the surface, this sounds appealing. Who wouldn’t want to get paid for the ads they’re forced to watch? But a closer look reveals a potentially insidious business model that could devastate content creator revenue.
The Middleman Problem
Pie.org’s business model hinges on inserting itself as a middleman between advertisers, platforms, and users. By blocking ads and then selectively serving them to users who opt-in to get paid, Pie.org siphons off ad revenue that would otherwise go to the platforms and creators.
This is problematic for several reasons. First, it’s unlikely that Pie.org has official partnerships with all the platforms it claims to work with. Second, even if it did, it almost certainly doesn’t have partnerships with individual creators, meaning they get cut out of the revenue stream entirely.
The Google Advertising Pipeline
Google, the world’s largest advertiser, has its own closed advertising system. Advertisers pay Google, which then serves ads on millions of websites, including YouTube. Google splits this revenue with the creators who make the content.
If an app like Pie.org were to become mainstream, it would disrupt this system. YouTube would be taking in ad dollars but losing out on serving those ads, unless it paid Pie.org as a middleman. This is an unsustainable model that would likely lead to creators losing out on significant revenue.
The Honey Connection
Perhaps most concerning is Pie.org’s connection to Honey. Of the 25 team members listed on Pie.org’s website, 18 are former Honey employees. This suggests that Pie.org may be attempting to replicate Honey’s allegedly problematic business practices on an even larger scale.
A Call for Transparency
In light of these concerns, it’s crucial that Pie.org provides a detailed explanation of its business model, how it profits, and how it impacts creators. Content creators deserve to know if a service is benefiting them or potentially cutting into their livelihood.
Until Pie.org can demonstrate that it offers a valid and beneficial product for both users and creators, it does not deserve the support of the content creation community. Creators and users alike must remain vigilant against middleman schemes that threaten the delicate ecosystem of online content.
