Topics
recent
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Mastodon
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:Mastodon
Cloud Computing
Department of Commerce
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
fund-raise
Gadgets
Gaming
Government & Policy
ironware
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
protection
societal
Space
Startups
TikTok
Transportation
speculation
More from TechCrunch
event
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Podcasts
Videos
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
get hold of Us
If you care assailable origin , decentralized social net that put the power in the hands of the people instead of billionaire , you may now support that cause … by buying toys . On Tuesday , Mastodon , a decentralize alternative to X , commence selling its own merchandisein the strain of cute , plushiemastodons – the proto - elephant with long tusks that give the social web its name .
The company announced last yr that it wouldhelp fund its development effortsthrough ware sale after a poll found that over 6,700 Mastodon users aver they would bribe something if merch was made available . in short thereafter , Mastodon quickly sell out of a pocket-size test unit of ammunition of product , including gull , tees , and pins . The card , which had only included 250 units of each point , was before long sell out .
That leads us to today ’s launching of theMastodon plushie , available in one size for $ 45 . The light - color , washable stuffie is 35 cm high and soft enough to serve as a travel pillow , the company says . Unfortunately for Mastodon ’s U.S. rooter , it ’s ab initio available only in the EU , as cargo to the U.S. have been delayed by recent storms .
Within a few hours of launch , Mastodon had sold 176 plushies , earning the party nearly $ 8,000 in tax income ( less its manufacturing and merchant vessels costs ) . By the end of the day , the figure had topped 200 . While that ’s nowhere most pay even a single developer ’s salary , it could avail the fellowship make a tiny dent in its server bills at least .
It ’s hard to imagine how a small , social net that primarilyfundsitself via Patreon , accord to founder and CEO Eugen Rochko , will ever make enough money to tip tech giants like X and Meta ’s Threads . Still , it ’s fun to see the open social community of interests rallying behind the effort , posting their plushie support#plushtodonafter their sales event are gross .
