The future of internet media is less, but better. Time and attention are precious, finite resources. How we spend them determines the quality of our lives. We believe media practitioners have a responsibility to treat time and attention as sacred, refusing to churn out commoditized filler content or algorithmic bait, and instead only ask for attention when we have something to say. Likewise, as generative AI fills the internet with unfathomable amounts of noise, we believe audiences will come to trust and cherish the creatives who most respect their time.

The media economy of the future will disproportionately reward perspectives that AI can't replicate. For us, that means a shift towards writing that’s personal, honest, courageous. It’ll be less about projecting expertise and authority on generalized topics—something which AI increasingly excels at—and more about individuals weaving the threads of their own experience into stories that could otherwise never exist.

The future of internet media will be fluidly collaborative. Individual expression is vital, but writers and creatives are capable of so much more, both artistically and economically, when working together and sharing resources. Emerging technologies will give us new tools and norms for collaborating, sharing in the economic upside, and maintaining our freedom from exploitative institutions and paradigms.

The future of internet media will be pluralistic. Our current landscape floods our collective consciousness with simplistic, emotionally-addictive narratives that fuel division and distrust, while alienating us from the vibrant complexity and diversity of our world. We believe the future of internet media will break echo chambers by allowing competing and compelling perspectives to live alongside one another. When those perspectives originate from individual humans, instead of generalized caricatures, it will begin to break down the emotional barriers that keep us from seeing each other and working together towards a more beautiful world.

Foster Presents • Steal Our Media Strategy

The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again