The Two Futures of Media

• 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

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Both share something that will define the future of our interaction with each other and machines. Algorithmic driven content, interfaces that shift from clicks and pages to a back and forth interactive volley with machines that do more and more to shape and surface deeply customized content, accomplish tasks, automate routines, and step us closer t

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The structure of the network matters a great deal here, because you can’t always solve thorny human problems with simple rules. Each writer and creator, and the community that they lead, in effect gets their own social network on Substack. What you see as a reader is determined by the people you subscribe to and the communities you choose

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The Web of the future however will be about individual creators, their creative, and their audiences. It will also be about brands and developers, and their direct relationships with users and consumers. It will not be about gated publisher platforms, ad networks, and middle-men data brokers. That lot will (hopefully) be replaced by open protocols ... See more