Media on the incumbent web is in crisis. It turns out that paying publishers for clicks, endless loops of “content” and ads, all served on platforms far beyond their maximum-viable scale is ideal for misinformation, disinformation and the decay of trust.

The values in the digitally induced reality have no other expression than the participation of others—as if it were a Ponzi scheme. And it is a Ponzi scheme. Anything viral and “participatory” brings more value to earlier contributors, but this value exists nowhere except in the engagement of later contributors.

Death of virality can be traced to social media’s algorithmic personalization, exponential growth of content (and content creators), and corresponding fragmentation of culture.More people, more content, smaller audiences.Small audiences are created through algorithmic personalization of the high volume of content. We see content, based on our taste... See more