Internet, newsletters, design, music, etc.
This is it, right here (from Neil Mason):
Connect with 3 new fans each day, and you’re building a broad and deep audience.
Imagine — 1,095 new friends who can open doors to opportunities and insights.
Create value and connect.
Start there, then rinse, and repeat.
The algorithms will always work against you, but for now you can always DM a fan, you can always reply to someone who likes your work.
The vault is still open, take what you can get.
This from ‘In 2024, the Tension Between Macroculture and Microculture Will Turn into War,’ by Ted Gioia:
I’m still puzzled why NPR and CNN and Harvard and other legacy institutions haven’t set up on Substack. But they clearly have zero interest in doing so—even if they could make money and expand their audience.
Yet these same institutions launched on Threads the very first day. They couldn’t sign up as soliders for Mark Zuckerberg’s new empire fast enough.
Also true for bands, record labels, and independent musicians.
That somehow the thing that has ruined our lives will also save our lives, our careers, our music, our art.
I don’t fucking get it.
These social media platforms are not on our side. Spotify is not on our side. Fuck, Bandcamp hardly seems to be on our side, now.
Can Substack shit the bed, too? Absolutely (and some will say they already have).
But with Substack I can export my fucking email list and go somewhere else. I will always have that. The day I’m fed up and walk, I didn’t lose a fucking thing.
Spending more than one god damn hour on Threads is just building share-holder value for Meta and making sure Zuck can top off his yachts gas tank this weekend.
Straight up, this post ‘How “Building An Audience” Is Different From “Finding Clients”—And Why It Matters‘ has haunted me since I read it.
Its conventional wisdom of more fans, more readers; more subscribers are somehow the answer to every problem.
This makes sense of course for someone who does podcast editing (like the author of this post); sure, reach out to your network, and find paying clients. Word of mouth. The power of your reputation.
BUT… what about the artist who posts about their new work on Instagram and only reaches 12% of their followers?
This is why social media pushes more – because 12% of more is at least better, right?
Whereas, if you could simply email and reach 100% of your fans, and former customers, with a message about your new offering, you could earn a living, or at least pay your phone bill.
I’ve been thinking of making videos for social media, and starting a YouTube channel. These two things are sort of expected, right? If you’re seeking to make an impact, more people seeing the thing can’t hurt.
But what about the almost 700 email subscribers I have already?
If I make a great video for them, and it’s so good they tell three other people, then I’ve done my job. If it’s a dud and no one watches it, then I’ve learned something new.
But to take the time to build a whole new YouTube channel from scratch?
Why don’t I hone my message, my style, my technique with nearly 700 who’ve already bought into what I’m talking about?
Saw someone complain on a social media platform how they lost access to their Instagram account, and how this seemingly happens every year around the holidays.
Then they went on to say,” anyways, here’s my new Instagram account.”
I just don’t get it.
It’s like, “I keep getting bitten by snakes, but anyways, I’m going go play with some more snakes.”
Why do any of us keep investing in these platforms that treat us like shit?