Pillowfort in 2024
Posted on August 25, 2024 by Aywren
Since I’m already talking about social media, I might as well discuss one of the smaller platforms that I still post on – Pillowfort. I’ve written about this site a few times in the past, most notably back in Blaugust of 2022 when the site got a significant face lift.
It’s more of a blogging platform with some social aspects mixed in – think of it like a modern day LiveJournal. There is a small and dedicated community that consistently uses Pillowfort, though I can’t say what the overall numbers look like now days. Certainly, there’s a bigger population now that you can sign up using their rolling waitlist – I wouldn’t think that the wait time would be very long at this point.
We’ve seen a number of nice improvements over the past few years, and I remain a supporter of the vision of the site. Pillowfort relies more on communities (similar to the ones Tumblr is now building) than followers or tags to share content, which is a different approach from most social media sites. That’s what makes it feel more like a blog with social features added to it.
They have found a way to keep the site completely user-funded this year. Which means there are still no ads mucking up the site in any way. However, there’s a somewhat unnerving feeling of what might happen should user support fall short of fully supporting the site each month.
I like that they’re being completely transparent with what they need to keep the site running. But on the other hand, you start getting posts such as this with graphics that warn that without more donations, the end is in sight.
On one hand, yeah, I know they have to ask for money to stay afloat. They want to be up front about how much buffer they have on hand and are willing to openly state the consequences of not meeting the expected funding for the month.
On the other hand, it fills me with a shiver of doom – especially since I’ve given money to this site, on two different accounts, for many years before PF Premium was a thing. PF Premium was supposed to be the thing that kept it going after its release, but they still seem to need a lot more funding beyond that through the form of monthly donations.
I love Pillowfort and what it’s trying to do, but posts like these (even if they are necessary, and usually are met with a response that earns them the funding they require) make it hard for me to recommend the site to others.
I do want more folks to use it. I do want people to adopt it and fandoms there to flourish because I feel like it could be a successful alternative to places like Tumblr and WordPress for smaller bloggers.
Still, it’s somewhat a vicious circle. There are users, but not as many users as social media folks are accustomed to seeing and interacting with. The site moves much more slowly than a Twitter, Tumblr, Mastodon or Bluesky.
Even the big social media sites can’t always retain users as people come and go. So, a smaller site like this is still working to find a solid user base who is willing to shoulder the expenses of keeping the site running in exchange for the site’s use.
I will continue to post things there, despite the fact that it’s pretty rare I see comments or interactions on my posts. Then again, I don’t see all that much on my main Tumblr account, either… So, it might not be all that different despite the larger userbase at Tumblr.
Again, I do want to see Pillowfort do well and survive. Yes, despite their worrying fund raising posts, I still recommend anyone looking for a free social blogging platform to try, give it a shot. Just keep in mind this is more like the hobbyist LiveJournals of eld and less like a pro blogger’s WordPress, and you might find a place you can chill and enjoy!