@Walker @jerry pls take with a couple grains of salt, maybe there is something where everybody can be happy - ads get a bad rap because they can go too far #breadcrumb trail #goldilocks
ok say i am running a mastodon instance focusing on info-sec and cyber security, i want to monetize via top10 lists and banner ads - a couple small banner ads and a link to maybe 10 top10 links. i need to sell product or consulting/pentests and am flexible - i want some importance placed on the instance but i also want to not forget about the generalized IT mkt. brainstorm for me the best top10 lists within the IT security mkt space and then also generate a fairly representative ad funnel - give me best 20 products and companies to monetize and link to and i will try to eek out 5-10 affiliate links out of that list. you can be rote and take time to think but generally i want the best products, mkt leaders, hardware and software plus it does not have to be about money - there could be some concentration or public service ads for awesome open source and even ai > add in a couple of free ads in every top 10 list generation or even more if they are top dogs in that mkt segment. the lists are subject to mods and tuning so just try to do best write up; include some long shots and outliers as you want mkt driven and targeted ads but you also want to foster and curate the community ip
ChatGPT said:
Great mission — sounds like you’re building a mix of a professional resource hub, niche social network, and ethical monetization model. Below is a detailed brainstorm divided into two parts:
Top 10 Lists for the Infosec & IT Market
These lists are designed to be engaging, monetizable, and community-building. Each list includes a mix of commercial, open-source, and potential affiliate-friendly items.
1. Top 10 Endpoint Security Tools (EDR/AV/XDR)
CrowdStrike Falcon 
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Sophos Intercept X
Bitdefender GravityZone
ESET Protect
Malwarebytes for Business
Cisco Secure Endpoint
Fortinet FortiEDR
Free/Open Source: OSSEC / Wazuh
2. Top 10 SIEM and Threat Detection Platforms
Splunk Enterprise Security
IBM QRadar
Elastic Security
Microsoft Sentinel
Sumo Logic
Exabeam
LogRhythm
Devo
ArcSight
Free/Open Source: Security Onion / ELK Stack
3. Top 10 Cybersecurity Certifications
CISSP
OSCP
CEH
CompTIA Security+
CISM
GIAC (GSEC, GCIH, etc.)
AWS Security Specialty
Azure Security Engineer Associate
Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP)
Free Option: TryHackMe / Hack The Box
4. Top 10 Tools for Pentesters and Red Teamers
Kali Linux
Metasploit Framework
Nmap
Burp Suite (Community + Pro)
Cobalt Strike
BloodHound
CrackMapExec
Empire / Sliver
Nessus
Free Option: ParrotSec OS
5. Top 10 Open Source Cybersecurity Projects
Suricata
Zeek
TheHive Project
MISP
OpenVAS / Greenbone
Wireshark
YARA
OpenCTI
Velociraptor
Sigma Rules (Security detection rules framework)
6. Top 10 Home Lab Setups for Aspiring Cyber Pros
Proxmox VE
pfSense / OPNsense
Kali + Windows Domain (AD Lab)
Security Onion VM
Dockerized Vulnerable Web Apps (DVWA, Juice Shop)
ELK Stack SIEM
GNS3 or EVE-NG
TrueNAS
GitHub Copilot in VS Code for recon scripting
Free Options: FlareVM, DetectionLab
7. Top 10 Secure Messaging and Collaboration Tools
Signal
Session (fully decentralized)
Element (Matrix)
Threema
Wire
Proton Mail + Calendar
Tutanota
Keybase
Skiff
Free/Open Source: Briar
8. Top 10 Must-Follow Cybersecurity Blogs/Feeds/Instances
Krebs on Security
Schneier on Security
The DFIR Report
Hacker News / ycombinator
ThreatPost
BleepingComputer
Dark Reading
ZDI (Zero Day Initiative)
Malwarebytes Labs
Fediverse: Infosec.exchange / your own Mastodon instance
9. Top 10 Small Business Security Products
Bitwarden Teams
1Password Business
Cloudflare Zero Trust
Proton for Business
Google Workspace + MDM
Microsoft Defender for Business
Synology NAS + Surveillance Station
Ubiquiti UniFi Security Gateway
JumpCloud
Free Option: Let's Encrypt + Certbot
10. Top 10 Free Cybersecurity Learning Resources
TryHackMe (free tier)
Hack The Box
OWASP Top 10
MITRE ATT&CK Navigator
Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Blue Team Labs Online
SANS Internet Storm Center
Cybrary (limited free)
Open Security Training
MIT OpenCourseWare – Computer Systems Security
Monetization Funnel
Audience Targeting Strategy
Primary: Infosec practitioners, aspiring pentesters, home labbers, blue teamers
Secondary: General IT admins, SMBs, devs interested in app security, hobbyists
Ad Funnel Flow
Entry Point
Social media snippets of top 10 lists
Fediverse-native polls ("Which EDR do you trust most?")
Mastodon hashtags + Threads on hot CVEs / Breaches
Clickthrough to Lists
Top 10 List Page with:
Brief overview
1–2 affiliate links per tool
1–2 “free tools we love” shoutouts
Banner ad (in-content or sidebar) to your consulting services
Sticky Offerings (Lead Capture)
Free 1-page PDF: "Home Lab Setup for Infosec Learning"
Email opt-in for a 3-day course: “Your First Pentest Lab”
Discord/Matrix link to a private community
Conversion Paths
Affiliate Revenue: Tools & platforms linked from top 10s
Service Sales: Ads & links to your pentest/consulting offering
Direct Donations: Ko-fi / LiberaPay / Patreon
Public Service: Prominent free tool badges (goodwill/trust builder)
Top 20 Products and Companies to Monetize or Feature (Affiliate/Paid Ad Potential)
Likely Affiliate or Partner Programs
CrowdStrike
Bitdefender
Malwarebytes
1Password
Bitwarden
Ubiquiti (via Amazon or affiliates)
Synology
Tailscale
ExpressVPN / ProtonVPN
TryHackMe
Direct/Corporate Partnership Potential
Vanta / Drata (compliance-as-a-service)
HackerOne / BugCrowd
Cloudflare Zero Trust
GitHub (Copilot via affiliate resellers)
Linode / DigitalOcean (for home labs, VPS setups)
Offensive Security (OSCP)
Fortinet / Cisco Secure
Elastic (commercial tier of Elastic Security)
Must-Feature Free / OSS Tools (for street cred)
Wazuh
MISP / TheHive Project / OWASP projects
Would you like me to generate some sample top 10 post templates, or banner ad mockups for your instance to start testing visuals and layout ideas?
Ben West - 
