The next update may take a bit of time because it'll be working on the tipping feature…I want to do this right and the implementation I have in mind is big enough to be its own product. Hopefully it won't take too long!
See you in the next dispatch!
Other than that, I created /privacy and /terms pages, cleaned up typos, and made other QoL improvements.
The "Surprise me" link will load a random video (remember StumbleUpon? I miss it).
Nickel's new random video message
If there aren't any related videos found, you'll see this instead:
Nickel's new related videos row
I finally got around to replacing it with a row of related videos, based on the tags you set during upload (or, after the fact).
Nickel's old placeholder video row
A long-standing issue with Nickel's video page has been the row of placeholder videos beneath the main content area.
Making tags behave like Channels clutters the interface with duplicate videos, which looks messy. Now, the TV Guide only shows Channels.
Looks sad that there are only two Channels at the moment but that'll change with time. Channels will only appear if there are at least five published videos.
Nickel's old TV Guide with Channels and Tags
I was rather proud of the TV Guide UI I introduced last week until I realized something…
Objectively, the new floating navigation is more helpful at a glance; color, shapes, and if all else fails, text.
Nickel's new floating navigation with PNG icons and text
What to do? Go back to the essence.
Nickel's old floating navigation with large SVG icons
As a result, nearly every interface you see is littered with icons you eventually understand will allow you to do some thing or another.
I was looking at Nickel's floating navigation and deciding it was unhelpful and unsightly.
Remember when software was descriptive and interfaces were easier to use? Nowadays we have less agency because software creators treat complexity like a deep dark secret that should never be seen.
In this dispatch, the TV Guide interface is live. It took quite some time to architect, please clap.
buttondown.com/nickel/archi...
Laundry list of fixes since the last dispatch:
- fixed layout shifting on video page load
- transcoder fixes
- fixed unlisted videos showing up in channels
- video upload page now redirects after successful upload
- Creators can now edit metadata and delete videos
buttondown.com/nickel/archi...
The NICKEL beta is live, plus what's next on the roadmap.
buttondown.com/nickel/archi...
Added drag&drop for the avatar and banner to NICKEL, and you can have a custom pfp shape.
Latest updates on NICKEL from the mailing list: buttondown.com/nickel/archi...
TL;DR: Theming and finding a competitor 👀
Looks like we’ve got competition, interesting. Let’s get it! techcrunch.com/2025/11/12/j...
TL;DR:
1. NICKEL = Patreon + TikTok (and Vine)
2. Creator/platform split? 85/15
3. Founder isn't (the bad) weird
4. Beta next month, launch next year
5. Mailing list = early access
It's about time for a proper introduction to NICKEL, your (future) favorite video site. Sign up for the mailing list to stay up to date with development progress, like this one!
buttondown.com/nickel/archi...
#creators #video #nickel
It boils down to the issue of hosting video from anyone in the world...and how to moderate that. It is nigh-impossible for a free service to manage that so unfortunately, this realistically will not happen.
A bunch of invite-only hubs would work though!
This was a quick one — I think video creators are under a big risk right now, bigger actually than before Kimmel was pulled off the air. One part of the reason why is a behind-the-scenes consolidation that almost nobody is paying attention to. youtube.com/shorts/3cK51...
screenshot of link share modal on nickel.video
screenshot of embed share modal on nickel.video
Want to quickly grab the link or embed to your videos? No problem.
Initially we were going to wait until all the features we want were finished before opening up but now we're focused on implementing the most important ones.
Here's the video in the screenshots:
nickel.video/6NI3n_IlIlII
