Business Models

Firms need business model change, not blockchain

I came of age in the Napster days, when only fools spent money on anything digital. Early on, we decided that we’d rather pay for the internet with attention instead of money. This seemed like a good idea at the time, and at first, it was!

It was like having a big party sponsored by Mazda, and all that meant was having the Mazda logo on the Solo... See more

Adam Mastroianni • The Slop School of Internet Success and other lies about cyberspace

ssari

on Internet business models

Sharecropping — Prolific Publisher

Regina Anaejionu prolificpublisher.com

AAna Fragoso

I’d argue that the gist of sharecropping on social media is: We rent space on platforms we don’t own. We pay for that space by becoming “the product” whose attention is sold to the highest ads bidder. Our attention is also being usurped by the makers of the platform and what they’ve programmed their algorithm to show us. Our data is being collected, stored, and reused without our knowledge or permission (at times). We are still the workforce that fills the platform with value, ideas, content, and meaning. ------ It doesn’t benefit major social media companies (in a modern, capitalistic business sense) to encourage us to do the things that actually help us change the world and grow our businesses, and spread our ideas the way “gold standard” people are. ----- In the age of AI—and tons of people competing for attention online, if you are a thought leader with meaningful ideas to share: • Trying to compete on quantity is actually foolish. • Trying to compete on quality will weed a few people out, but is clearly not enough because most people I know are already trying that. • Competing on placement, relevance, and the strategic platform you build for your thought leadership is a much better way to spend your energy.

I wanted to make a product and sell it directly to people who’d care about its quality. There’s an incredible connection possible when you align your financial motivations with the service of your users. It’s an entirely different category of work than if you’re simply trying to capture eyeballs and sell their attention, privacy, and dignity in... See more