Business Models

Jimmy Wales on why business model informs outcomes

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.