Mesh Creates a Participatory News Platform: A Media Prosperity Experiment Powered by Points

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Mesh Creates a Participatory News Platform: A Media Prosperity Experiment Powered by Points

GM,

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Now, let’s get into today's article. I'm introducing a newly launched, fresh-out-of-beta news platform—READr Mesh (referred to as Mesh in this article). This is exactly the kind of application I love: at first glance, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with crypto, and users don’t need to understand blockchain to start using it.

Mesh leverages technology and tokens as tools to address the challenges facing the media industry. It’s no secret that traditional media has been in decline for a long time—but is there a solution? Let's start by discussing Facebook’s recent decision to shut down its fact-checking program.

Gnawing on the Bone

Misinformation (false or misleading information) is even more resilient than cockroaches. No one wants to receive fake news, and many dedicated individuals have invested time and money to combat it. Yet, ironically, misinformation has only increased over the past few years. To understand this paradox, we need to examine where people get their information.

Social media. Even as a content creator, I often don’t get my news directly from news websites. Instead, I first see it shared on social media before clicking through to read the full article.

Social media algorithms shape our perception of reality—news outlets merely provide the "meat" to fill in the gaps. What’s worse, many people consume news like they’re gnawing on a bone—reading only the headline without bothering with the full article. For everyday trivial matters, this might not be a big deal. But during high-stakes events like presidential elections or referendums, misinformation floods the internet.

In 2016, Facebook introduced a fact-checking program, granting third-party fact-checking organizations special authority to flag content that was clearly false or satirical. Additionally, Facebook’s algorithm would reduce the reach of such content.

However, just last week, Facebook announced that it would phase out this fact-checking system and replace it with Community Notes1. Think back to the headlines you’ve seen online—weren’t they all saying something like “Facebook is terminating its contracts with fact-checking organizations”? At first glance, it sounds like Facebook is irresponsibly abandoning the fight against misinformation. But the full picture is that they are replacing one system with another—not giving up entirely.

It’s the classic half-glass-full dilemma. Some will say the glass is half empty, while others will say it’s half full. There is only one truth, but multiple perspectives. Traditional fact-checking organizations might say both sides are correct, while the new Community Notes system will show you another side of the truth. I don’t think the latter approach is necessarily worse.

The root cause of the issue is that social media platforms control people’s access to information, necessitating additional mechanisms to counteract algorithmic bias. The protagonist of this article, Mesh, proposes a more radical solution—one that aims to eliminate the problem at its core by returning content selection power to the readers.

An RSS News Platform with Built-in Social Features

The image below shows Mesh’s homepage. Mesh is not a media outlet; its functionality is more akin to an RSS reader. After signing up, users begin by selecting media sources and other users to follow, then start "curating" content published by these media outlets. The platform does not rely on complex algorithms; instead, it sorts content chronologically or based on how many people have curated it. I’d describe it as the "whole foods" version of news.

Consuming whole foods is healthier, and the same principle applies to reading news. Whole foods don’t mean bland flavors—they’re just less heavily processed. Similarly, Mesh allows readers to curate their own news experience, much like shopping for groceries at a supermarket. Users can follow their favorite news brands and compile a personalized daily "meal" of news articles. They can also follow trusted individuals, such as Li Youru, who focuses on mining laws, or Hsu Ming-en, who writes about Web3. Social media platforms prioritize the most sensational content to maximize engagement, but by returning control to the readers, people might start considering a more balanced news diet—perhaps two servings of analysis and one serving of breaking news?

Mesh is more than just another RSS reader—it aims to experiment with new monetization and revenue-sharing mechanisms. Take Feedly, the world's most well-known RSS reader, for example. It is a one-way content aggregation tool that pulls articles from various websites, but high-quality content is often hidden behind paywalls. Even freely accessible news articles are sometimes restricted, as media outlets prioritize ad revenue and don’t want users reading full articles via Feedly. This limitation is one of the main reasons I don't use Feedly—it often only displays headlines, bringing us back to the "chewing on bones" problem.

For RSS readers to truly work, they need to integrate payment solutions that allow readers to voluntarily support or pay to unlock content. If media outlets earn revenue and readers gain convenience, the cycle can be broken. Mesh proposes a token-based economy where readers earn points, media outlets receive payouts, and advertisers foot the bill.

Monetized RSS Reader

Mesh doesn’t have ads yet, but that’s only a matter of time. Advertising revenue is the financial backbone of the Mesh platform—without it, Mesh would just be another RSS reader.

To kickstart its token economy, Mesh initially provides users with 50 points as a subsidy. Each point is equivalent to 1 NTD, allowing users to experience a monetized RSS reader and make small contributions to their favorite media outlets. At the top of each news article, users will find two buttons: Sponsor and Feature—one for financial support and the other for content ranking. The more users feature an article, the more visibility it gains, increasing its chances of receiving sponsorship.

Featuring an article works much like "liking" a post—it’s a familiar concept, and most people don’t expect to earn anything from it. However, Mesh believes featuring has value. Curating news helps create discussion spaces around important topics. If a heated debate erupts in the comments, attracting a wave of engaged viewers, it can further generate advertising revenue.

Mesh incorporates the concept of "data as labor2" from the book Radical Markets3, allowing users to earn points by featuring articles. Even just spending time reading news on Mesh can generate point rewards. However, only media outlets can cash out these points—regular users cannot withdraw funds but can use their points to sponsor content or unlock paywalled articles, keeping value circulating within the news ecosystem.

If the system runs smoothly, this monetization model could be upgraded further by introducing a public funding pool, where readers’ sponsorships also influence how public funds are distributed. With stable revenue streams from sponsorships, subscriptions, and public funding, media outlets could afford to make full articles accessible via RSS, restoring users' freedom to consume content without restrictions.

However, Mesh is experimenting with multiple moving parts while competing for users’ attention against powerful incumbents. Ultimately, it's challenging ingrained reading habits—and as anyone who has tried to adopt an earlier bedtime knows, changing habits is the hardest part.

Changing Habits

Two years ago, I paid to join the Homemakers’ Union Cooperative4, hoping to experience firsthand how a cooperative5 could connect farmers and consumers to provide safer, more eco-friendly food. But this year, I am no longer a member—I only shopped there twice all year and couldn't break my habit of ordering groceries through delivery platforms.

Mesh is like the Homemakers’ Union of the news industry, aiming to connect media outlets with readers to create a healthier information environment. However, its competitors include LINE TODAY, beauty influencers reporting news on live-streaming platforms, and every major social media site. Asking people to abandon these sources and switch to Mesh sounds simple in theory but is incredibly difficult in practice.

Even if some readers are determined to change their habits, Mesh may not yet be ready to meet their needs. Take me as an example: currently, Mesh has almost no Web3 news, and the outlets I follow aren’t on its list of partnered media. I can’t be expected to change my interests too, right? 😂 Even if there’s sufficient content, the bigger debate is how funding should be distributed.

Although this article barely mentions cryptocurrency, the entire ecosystem operates as an open financial system6. The financial relationship between Mesh and media outlets could be seamlessly managed with just a single wallet address. If each media company has to spend time setting up payments and bank accounts, it only adds unnecessary complexity. With crypto, Mesh could easily experiment with various funding distribution models in the future.

Finally, some may wonder how Mesh differs from LikeCoin. I completely agree with what Dou-ni said at last week’s Mesh Launch Party:
"LikeCoin is about freedom of publishing, while Mesh is about freedom of reading." In simple terms, LikeCoin focuses on whether writing can be a sustainable career, while Mesh is concerned with whether readers have a balanced news diet.

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