When it comes to platform vs tools, we prefer companies that start as a tool and then develop as a platform. These are startups that solve a complete business problem. They figure out how to get the data and then how to build a loop to learn from that data and create a user experience that solves a specific business problem.
The algorithms that shape our cultural landscape are not inherently malicious. They are indifferent. Their purpose is not to destroy art but to optimize engagement—a goal that, while profitable, is fundamentally incompatible with the principles of artistic innovation.
As influencers try to monetize, they are bringing all the old off-line tools to make it happen. Selling everything from makeup and swag to exclusive "how-to" guides, the playbooks all rhyme. But is slapping your name on a t-shirt in your Shopify website, selling new age self-help courses, and slinging sponsored posts all we really got?
Axie co-founder and growth lead, Jeff “Jiho” Zirlin, told me: The idea is to introduce something that’s new and a little scary [crypto] through something fun, familiar, and nostalgic. Then, adding property rights and economic freedom make it really special.
While Mark Zuckerberg believes he is best placed to homestead the metaverse, he may be surprised to find a thriving, indigenous species has already taken hold: Discord. More than any other business, the company is truly “metaverse native,” unwittingly built for the future. First designed for gamers — the metaverse’s pioneers — time has allowed it t... See more