The “passion economy” thesis assumes that an audience will want everything a creator brings to market, the way viewers of the “Rachael Ray” show will often buy Rachael Ray cookbooks and cookware. But starting a newsletter does not immediately lead to speaking engagements, and not all writers can generate multiple distinct products. Yglesias told me... See more
“In 2024, you’ll likely see 1,000-5,000 centers around the globe who offer psychedelics for medical use to treat PTSD, depression, alcoholism, end-of-life anxiety, and possibly a handful of other things” – Paul Austin
“While the development of the institutional and market forms of organization led to an emphasis on competitive advantages, development of the multi-organizational network form may shift the emphasis to cooperative advantages”
XHS’ genesis as a practical shopping guide has lent a pragmatic path dependency to the content. Comparisons to Instagram and Pinterest overshadow XHS’ comparative advantage of utility-led content rather than entertainment-led content. Baidu’s failing search and Zhihu’s rambling answers have led to a gap in the Chinese market for actionable... See more
When The Huffington Post looked to grow participation on their platform in 2010, they introduced the behavior of badging. Seemingly simple, badging was responsible for the growth of The Huffington Post over any other participatory tool or tactic because the intrinsic benefits tied to the community’s status and identity encouraged engagement on... See more
One important conclusion for me from this is the importance of culture (and that oh-so-important word that crypto influencers have unfortunately ruined for me, "narrative"). If a project having a high moral standing is equivalent to that project having twice as much money, or even more, then culture and narrative are extremely powerful forces that... See more