Hey, I'm ex-Reddit advisor and sold a community platform to WeWork. I noticed something BIG recently if you're looking to build cash-flowing internet businesses: There are 1.8B active users in Facebook Groups in 2024 But I've noticed 95% of paid communities are dead. RIP.… Show more

The internet stage is more crowded. Attention is more expensive. Making one's voice heard has gotten harder. The good days of cheap Facebook ads are behind us. Turning users into contributors and advocates is a hard-to-crack but high-rewards marketing strategy. Community is the new Moat.

One of Web 2.0’s most crucial lessons is that extractive business models cannot be masked by marketing for very long. This is doubly true when the community itself is part of what people are paying for. Users will quickly turn on network operators if they sense hypocrisy or are given no voice in the development of the service. I am least optimistic... See more

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 sust... See more