Premium Access Extended!

Here's how premium PhaseChamber users can launch free video calls for the next 12 months

Hey all!

This post is for those of you who are premium subscribers to PhaseChamber.

I’ll cut to the chase. As some of you may have noticed, I’ve been rather slow to get the ball rolling on PhaseChamber. Due to these delays, I’ve decided to extend your premium access to November 5, 2025 — 12 months from now.

When I say ‘premium access’, I’m primarily referring to the videoconferencing feature. I’ve attached a video to the bottom of this post that explains how you, as premium users, can start hosting video calls and conferences through the platform. If you’re a paid subscriber (or pre-subscriber), it won’t cost you an additional cent!

We may need to impose some loose limits from next year onwards, depending on the uptake, but for now you can use it as much as you want.

The videoconferencing feature has been available since PhaseChamber launched, but regrettably this is the first chance I’ve had to explain how it works. I’ve been torn between multiple projects over the past two months, one of which has a very imminent deadline. The stress has been … significant.

But being busy is no excuse for not giving you what you paid for, hence the extension.

As I mentioned in my last post, launching PhaseChamber was not without its challenges. I realised within days of going live that I could not possibly manage the platform on my own, much less continue to grow it. The work was simply too much.

Facebook employs about 72,000 people. I was trying to compete with Facebook as a team of one. It dawned on me pretty quickly that I needed to scale back my ambitions, at least in the short term.

Sticking to my original goals would’ve required me to start seeking investment. Seeking investment would’ve required me to pursue profit as my primary objective. I wasn’t ready to make that compromise — so instead, I shifted my focus.

I decided to put the less useful features on the back burner, and double down on the features that provide the most value. I took those features and fashioned them into a campaign called the Declaration Project, which you’ll be hearing more about very soon.

And before you roll your eyes at me creating yet another the website — don’t worry, the Declaration Project will be hosted on PhaseChamber! You won’t need to re-register or anything like that. It’s still the same platform with the same features, and everything you’ve uploaded will remain perfectly intact. The only difference is that we’ll be driving traffic towards a new and improved part of the website, rather than the previous homepage.

If all of this seems a little chaotic, that’s probably because it is. I’m trying to strike a three-way balance between serving the movement, honouring my obligation to you guys, and protecting myself from burnout. It took a while, but I think I’ve finally devised a sensible path forward.

The dilemma I face, which I alluded to earlier, is that PhaseChamber needs capital. I need assistance to maintain it in its current state, and I need lots of assistance in order for it to grow.

But if I start shopping around for investors, the first thing they’ll want to do is increase its profitability. In the short term, this will require two things. Firstly, the investors will want me to broaden the platform’s appeal, such that it no longer belongs to the freedom community; and secondly, they’ll want me to start generating ad revenue.

Neither of these are compromises that I’m willing to make at this point in time. The first is antithetical to what PhaseChamber is supposed to be — a refuge for those of us who aren’t welcome on other platforms — and the second would undermine our independence by making us beholden to advertisers.

Having disregarded these options, I’ve been wracking my mind to devise an alternative path forward. How do we keep PhaseChamber alive without turning it into something it was never meant to be?

It’s taken a few weeks, but I think I’ve finally figured it out.

From next year onwards, my intention is to treat the videoconferencing feature as its own standalone service, separate from PhaseChamber. This videoconferencing service will be politically neutral and designed to turn a profit. In other words, it will be a business.

The rest of PhaseChamber will be left as is. It will remain a place where people can share ideas without fear of censorship. Most importantly, it will be run on a not-for-profit basis, free from any obligation to advertisers or shareholders.

By splitting PhaseChamber into two distinct entities — a for-profit arm and a not-for-profit arm — I think we stand a good chance of staying afloat without compromising on our core principles. It will enable me to go out and seek investment without having to worry about conflicts of interest.

It’s not what I envisioned when I started creating PhaseChamber — but having considered all the variables, I honestly think it’s the best way forward.

In the meantime, PhaseChamber will continue to exist in its familiar form. Very soon it will expand to include the Declaration Project, a campaign that I’m super excited about.

But the Declaration Project is a topic for a different post. I’ll end this one with a tutorial that explains how premium users can start launching video calls through PhaseChamber!

Thanks for once again indulging my rambling. I know I don’t post as regularly as I perhaps should, but please don’t mistake the radio silence for stagnation. When I’m not posting, I’m working; and although progress doesn’t always happen as fast as I’d like, I really am committed to making this community proud.

None of this would be possible without your patience and support. On behalf of myself and everyone who will one day benefit from these creations, thank you.