Excellent post.

As the owner of 2 non-bitcoin related territories I'd like to try and weigh in. One has performed exceedingly well given the audience here is mostly interested in bitcoin content -- while the other has not faired so well -- and as a result I will be letting that particular territory go.

A tale of 2 cities/territories -- so it goes:

Culture - has performed well beyond my expectations. I had no expectations around how much money I would start to make back post investment -- and quite frankly assumed it would likely take 6-12 months to see any kind of effects here. While that still may be the case, I'm finding I'm making meaningful returns back. By virtue of being a rather broad category that has a catch-all appeal -- I find it attracts a broad array of users, and on any given week you'll find a culture post in the top ten trending posts on SN. I've done zero marketing here, and I haven't had to find the leading culture podcaster or celebrity to make it pop. I think any user could post a discussion in this sub and find just as meaningful responses and comments if not MORE so than on reddit. That's HUGE for SN given where it is in it's trajectory. I fully expect to see continued organic growth on this sub. Eventually, I'd love to see what happens when you do get "respected" or "influential" culture intellectuals to "take over" the sub or even subs-of-subs. Overall - very surprised and very happy with the performance on this one.

Japan - has performed more or less where my initial expectations would have landed. In other words, it gets 1-2 consistent users posting (diehards of Japan) but because SN's base really isn't coming to Stacker News for weird facts about Japan, you don't see much engagement. If I were to ask "what did everyone think about the representation of the Ronin in episode 5 of the Blue-Eyed Dragon" I'd expect just about zero responses today on SN. This is where seeding territories with folks "known" for the sub might help to kick-start growth in these non-bitcoin subs. But I also think this is to be expected and as SN continues to find ways to seed growth outside of core bitcoin audiences (if that's what it wants to do -- although SN may choose to be a space that is and will always be for a core bitcoin audience).

All this to say, as a non core bitcoin user -- I'm having a BLAST on here. I learn so much from territories, and I love reading through all your thoughts. Keep them coming and keep those territories growing. Much love.