Influencer Capitalism
How influencers are taking over social media
“When deep space exploration ramps up, it'll be the corporations that name everything, the IBM Stellar Sphere, the Microsoft Galaxy, Planet Starbucks.” - Fight Club
I have been trying to write this article for about 3 weeks now. Every time I finished the article, more news came out and it was instantly outdated. Between Kanye West wanting to blow up the Jews, then buying Parler… now he’s a tech billionaire, but then he wasn’t a billionaire anymore. Did he ever buy Parler? Elon Musk buys Twitter but something about a sink? He fires most of the workforce and now wants to charge for a Blue Checkmark. While Kanye and Elon are entering the social media space, Mark Zuckerberg is desperately trying to leave social media to focus exclusively on the metaverse. Oh yea, Instagram is web3. Bro! Wtf???!!! I don’t want to write 3 separate articles about the significance of this phase in Social Media. This new landscape could present a set of opportunities for entrepreneurs seeking to take advantage of this chaos. Also…it could just be a clown show.
Social Media companies be like…
I ideologically disagree with how social media companies have been operating for the past decade. Before I continue with this point…let’s zoom out. We are all familiar with the idiom, “if you don’t pay for the product then that means that you are the product.” To make a free product profitable, most social media companies implemented the advertising model for monetization. By now we’re all familiar with how it works. The companies build profiles around each individual that collects data based on the person’s interest then build algorithms that target ads that the person is most likely to interact with. Believe it or not, I don’t have a problem with that. Those algorithms got so good at guessing what I like that I look forward to scrolling down my timeline specifically to find some cool stuff to buy. “I got $100 to blow, tell me what to blow it on Facebook!” The part that I disagree with is when the Cambridge Analytica scandal revealed that after they collected that data, it was then sold to the highest bidder. That’s where I draw the line, “who tf are these people you’re selling my data to?” I’m fine with Facebook collecting my data because I signed up to Facebook and I value the service they provide but when they start selling my data to who knows who, for who knows what reason…that’s when I feel like my privacy has a been violated.
Candace Owens is a tricky one
The month of October 2022 drastically changed the social media landscape. The month started with Kanye threatening nuclear Armageddon on every Jewish person on the planet, Meta releasing what they are betting on is the future of social interactions, and Elon loudly firing everyone who worked at Twitter ( then silently asking them to come back). Kanye bought Parler during that entire episode. I don’t think Kanye is crazy like people say, he seems very calculated. His opponents should be wary of diminishing his mental aptitude by labeling him crazy because in a way they are giving him a shield to hide behind…after all, no one takes crazy people seriously. Parler and Rumble are the defacto free speech platforms where the outcasts of society feel comfortable expressing themselves. I’m all for it, I think the concept of “de-platforming” or “de-personing” someone is dangerous. Of course, you start with Alex Jones and Klan members but eventually, it reaches someone who disagrees with what their children are taught in schools or a government mandate that should be publicly debated. That’s my ideological stance, speech must be free. I fully support repercussions such as losing money, deals or being ostracized by a social circle, but the speech must always be free. The question is, does Kanye have such a strong resolve on “Free Speech.” Is it only Free speech when he wants to blow up the Jews? Or can he receive that same hatred that he spews? My second concern is how does he plan to monetize it? Does he have a plan to attract advertisers? Will he try to implement a subscription model? Is his buying Parler as a vanity project or does he have an actual plan to run it as a business? Has he thought of any of this…at all…even a little bit? All these questions remain to be seen.
Watching Elon Musk run Twitter
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter on the other hand is interesting. First he wanted it then he didn’t want it then he bought it and fired everyone. I know he’s widely regarded as a genius but that move doesn’t make any sense. Disagree with how Twitter has been run but that codebase is decades old. I don’t care how good the Tesla engineers are, they can’t handle decades-old codebase by themselves with no reference to what does what. So that move is very peculiar because he’s only been in charge for 2 weeks. There’s no way he knows how a megalith like Twitter runs. Suppose he runs into a security issue and the only person who knows how to fix it was fired. The next point is, why is he running Twitter by Tweet. “Twitter will start charging $20/month for Blue checks…wait you don’t like that, what about $8?” How did he even come up with those numbers? Who says anyone even wants to pay for that? More so…why did he bring it up in the first place? Just implement the feature and be like, “OK everyone has to pay for Blue Checks now…”, is this how he runs SpaceX? Random edicts from the man in the room. Nothing he has done regarding Twitter has been thought through. It’s very apparent that he’s throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. The next thing that boggles my mind is that he wants to change Twitter into X, the everything company. Elon likes We Chat and wants to transform Twitter into this Chinese app. Anyone who has done their Elon history knows that his first company was called X which was integrated into PayPal. He is using Twitter as a starting point to implement his childhood dream. The only problem is, I signed up for Twitter…not whatever X is. Implementing additional functionality is cool and but Elon is completely changing Twitter into an entirely different app. Weird…
The Champ is here!
Lastly, I get to the only person who makes any sense. Mark Zuckerberg AKA The MVP ( Most Valuable Programmer ) BKA The GOAT ( Greatest Of All Tech )! As opposed to the other folks in this article…Mark Zuckerberg is moving away from social media. When Apple removed Facebook’s ability to track our online activities, it was a severe hit to the company’s bottom line. Suddenly, I’m scrolling Facebook looking to blow $100 and nothing interesting is being advertised to me. The best move forward is the one that he is doing. Mark is pioneering an industry where his company owns the hardware, so another company can’t come along and disrupt his revenue stream. He understands that he’ll take a few hits during this transitional period but by the end, Meta would have created a whole new internet that they fully own and can monetize in any way they see fit. They are introducing revolutionary technology that is disrupting the entire industry, they have the money to invest in this R&D. I have nothing but respect for Mark Zuckerberg and his vision for the future. That being said, Meta needs competition so it doesn’t completely envelope the Synthetic Reality industry. There needs to be multiple perspectives and use cases built so that the interface doesn’t become disproportionately one unpopular thing. The only thing I would suggest is that Meta should do more collaborations. Partner with Addidas who does collaborations well…see the $1 Arizona collab sneakers or YEEZY. I don’t know about you guys but I’m excited about buying Meta stock at a 75% discount. MVP! MVP! MVP! We’re rooting for you, Mark! No seriously…save us from the clowns.
Attack of the Billionaire Clowns… coming to theater near you!
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