The mass market is dead, replaced by the mass of niches.

We vary as to what’s meaningful to us, but that’s a difference that markets and the internet don’t identify and serve. So it’s easy to satisfy your obscure tastes, than to make your life meaningful. You end up with a perfect coffee blend, but no creativity, no contemplation, nothing you really want.

Our tastes are ever more niche. We gravitate towards communities and brands, or both, that cater to our niche tastes. Tracksmith, Telfar, Crown Affair or FatherFoods are some of the examples. In this micro-taste communities’ landscape, mass fashion brands come across as too generic and superficial. The winning growth strategy instead is to go deep ... See more

After a few decades in which giant aggregators have become the dominant marketplaces while original media companies often seem relatively small, this framework is a reminder that the most successful marketplaces are always media marketplaces.

the quantitative revolution in culture is a living creature that consumes data and spits out homogeneity.

the potential for “community fatigue” with the proliferation of branded micro-groups, which aren’t always invested in members’ well-being.

What’s striking about these internet microcosms is that despite how insular they appear, there are no geographic limits. Online music is both incredibly localized and universal, simultaneously confined to small Discord clubs and capable of being transmitted through electric signals to vibrate speakers around the globe.