Community > Audience
Why communities are the new place to build authentic connections
The last 15 years in digital culture have been strictly about audience building. It’s been largely about gaining followers and performing against a set of vanity metrics. If I only had a dollar for the number of times I heard someone at a company say “we are not doing social media right” because we don’t have a lot of followers. In 2010 I launched a social media agency right before the tsunami of “follower fantasy.” An entire industry was born on the backs of individuals with more followers than substance. We accepted that these people were experts and best in class voices in certain verticals because of their follower counts. I remember it distinctly, and I can say it was a sigh of relief to have my agency acquired in 2014. I was exhausted by brands valuing “influencers” over “quality content” and the notion that the influencer was going to dramatically boost sales / awareness / buzz, etc. It should be noted that several Web 2 influencers have gone on to build solid businesses with many products and offerings that they own. Youtubers Logan Paul and KSL currently have Prime, the hottest drink in the beverage aisle, thanks to crazy demand from mainly kids. I’m not saying follower counts don’t matter however the manufacturer who I’m sure cut a deal with Paul recognized a great opportunity in getting KSL and Jake Paul as partners. The “straight to manufacturer” deals are coming and a sign of the times. Creators want ownership and scale and manufactures want to move product.
I built Soul Purpose, an email newsletter business in NYC in 1999 that was the most influential email media publication to read in the culture business and it started it with 300 email addresses. Those 300 people represented a highly curated group of the top voices in music, film, sports, fashion and media. In Web 1, follower counts weren’t a thing and people with websites, chat boards, blogs were still extremely influential. Soul Purpose was acquired by UBO for a sum of money and an employee contract.
I also believe in the power of “1000 True Fans” an idea derived from the article with the same name written over a decade ago by Kevin Kelly, co-founder of Wired Magazine. The idea that instead of pursuing widespread celebrity, creators only needed to engage a small base of “true fans” those who will “buy anything you produce.” The 1000 Fans theory supposes that $100 per fan, per year would generate a total annual income of $100,000. Kevin Kelly believed 10 years ago that by embracing online networks creators had the potential to bypass traditional gatekeepers and get paid directly by a smaller base of fans, and earn a great living. For me, its a breath of fresh air after spending my formative years creating superstars at Sony Music. I know first hand what it takes to sell millions of records because I was deeply entrenched in the marketing and planning.
2023 feels like a return to the true influence days of Web 1. We have witnessed the rise of creator owned platforms with Patreon, Discord, Mighty Networks, Signal/Whatsapp Groups and of course Clubhouse. Destinations where the size doesn’t matter as much as who is in the room. I’m not proposing that having a big audience doesn’t still hold weight, I’m introducing the fact that communities will hold more influence. For example I have 2.5m followers in Clubhouse but its my >300 member text groups in Whatsapp that are filled with some of the most powerful names in business and are the most valuable. I am in a TED group, a Creator Economy group, Family Office / Philanthropy group and Global futurist group that each have a small curated feel and every person is someone that could impact your business.
Its time to prioritize communities and embrace ownership.
Charles King raised $90m to expand his Macro entertainment business. Congrats to an incredibly hard worker and all around great guy.
I’m just now learning about Notion and it’s appeal to Gen Z. 731m Views on Tik Tok. (Thx for this Taylor Marcus at Crate)
Love what Swiss shoemaker ON is doing in the subscription business
One of our members, former NFL Linebacker Dhani Jones is buying a bank. First time a primarily white bank has been acquired and turned into a black entity. Dhani and his partners Bernice King and Ashley D. Bell will acquire the bank under their Redemption Holding Company. This will be the first black owned bank in the Mountain West region pending regulatory approval
Upfront Summit 2023 was incredible. This is my 4th year attending and this is not your typical Venture Capital Summit. Mark Suster from Upfront Ventures does an incredible job bringing together VC’s, Entertainment, Sports, Media, Tech to discover what’s next in LA. Kobie Fuller has been intentional about making sure the room is diverse and has done an incredible job. It always feels like a reunion of the most powerful voices in sports, entertainment and venture capital in Los Angeles.
Building Creator Mode In Public
What we discussed last week across our networks
Clubhouse: Building Your Business with Imagination / Catherine Connors (Cafe Media)
Linkedin: Imagine New Ways To Build Your Build & Scale Your Business
🎵❤️Music We Love
We a Run E Grung (Remix)-Nadg, The dance is all over your IG Feed and you like it
Stakes Is High-De La Soul, RIP Trugoy the Dove
Royaye Maa-O.O.A.K aka One of a Kind, Free IRAN
Running Out of Time, Lil Yachty, Yachty found a pocket
So Good-Mauve, Its SO good.
Masters At Work “Nuyorican Soul” album is one of my all time favorite albums you probably never heard of
My friend the incredible author and writer Nelson George remembers Wayne Shorter
