[rgbrenner]

I agree, but I think a federated platform would look more like email. Very little advertising, mostly given away for free.

With a federated platform, that's possible because no single company is shouldering the entire cost. And users would migrate to the cheapest provider since they wouldn't be tied to any particular provider.

[eropple]

And once one provider that's good-enough hits "free", why wouldn't everyone just go there?