The potential to build community-curated knowledge networks remains largely untapped. There are reasons to be optimistic; the economic feasibility of paid communities, a renewed interest in curation, a slow move away from big social, and an improved understanding of platform incentives. All combined, this will lead to communities that are more... See more

I wish patronage were widely adopted as an explicit social norm. So-called “gentleman scientists” and patron-funded scientists, such as Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton, were behind some of the biggest scientific advancements in the 17th through 19th centuries. I think we got a little confused with the introduction of crowdfunding in the early... See more

TikTok feels like such a hit to me because it’s nailed the dynamic between online scarcity and online abundance really well. It is a gift culture hybrid model: the status economy of TikTok runs on what you’re owed, and what you’ve given away. But your ability to give something valuable away in the first place often falls back on scarcity and flex... See more