Sublime

Algorithmic mediocrity has triggered a renaissance of human discernment, with consumers seeking trusted curators, insider communities, and editorial voices that offer genuine discovery.

As the rest of the internet gets overtaken by bots and AI-generated content and oligarch-owners livestreaming megalomaniacal presidential candidates, the self-contained publications controlled entirely by professional humans win out.

But in 2021, I believe we’ll see the dark side of this movement. Right now, I believe we’re in a honeymoon period, with many independent journalists still starry-eyed over the promise of digital platforms like Substack, Patreon, YouTube, and more. But the more journalists become digital creators, the more they’ll become subject to the type of strug... See more

Is it any coincidence that the race to the bottom in media—toward clickbait headlines, toward the vulgar and prurient and dumb, toward provocative but often exaggerated takes—has accelerated in lock-step with the development of new technologies for measuring engagement?