in a world where AI slop is everywhere and it’s easier than ever to build software

what goes up:

the value of known celebrities goes up

the value of dotcoms goes up

the value of strong distribution channels goes up

the value of proprietary data goes up

the value of taste and curation goes up

the value of trusted brands goes up

the value of community-built products goes up

the value of niche media companies goes up

the value of unique insights goes up

the value of timeless design goes up

the value of governance and trust layers goes up

the value of asymmetric access (exclusive deals, private data sources) goes up

the value of “un-Googleable” expertise goes up

the value of anti-fragile business models (cash flow > valuation) goes up

the value of contracts and legal protections goes up

the value of real-world distribution (retail, events, meetups) goes up

do you agree?

what goes down:

the value of generic ai wrappers goes down

the value of low-barrier saas clones goes down

the value of undifferentiated agencies goes down

the value of fake followers and bots goes down

the value of hype-only launches goes down

the value of thin moats built on api arbitrage goes down

the value of me-too newsletters goes down

the value of mid-tier influencers without trust goes down

the value of average content goes down

the value of faceless brands goes down

the value of low-effort meme pages goes down

the value of audiences without trust goes down

the value of design mimicry (clone aesthetics) goes down

the value of top-of-funnel vanity metrics goes down

🎤 The SWIPES Email (Fri, January 16th, 2026)