Midjourney/prompt: "balancing scale, watercolor" (photoshopped and remixed for final result)

The Double Bind Theory—Or Why Sensationalism (Unfortunately) Works

If you want to win, you gotta spike

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Nan Hutton almost 2 years ago

Well argued. Question: is survival of the fittest the only leg of evolution or, as many have suggested, is survival of the cooperative also valid? If so, does cooperation elevate quality? In other words, does a strategy promoting quality do better if they emphasis sensationalism or cooperation? I don't know, but that's what popped into my head when I read this! Thanks!

Evan Armstrong almost 2 years ago

@nanh I think it is impossible for 99% of firms to cooperate on a large enough scale to make a long-term, defensible advantage. That said, short-term stuff works.

Benjamin Pazdernik almost 2 years ago

Really well written. In an age of generative AI I am curious though, if the publishers could potentially pivot in a way by mass-personalizing their content to their viewers preferences. I imagine users of websites being able to customize the content automatically in length, style, complexity and so on based on their personal likings. It would be interesting if such a change could mitigate the disadvantage of publishers.

This is an incredible piece. Thank you. I work at meta and have never seen this problem framed so clearly.

Oh my goodness you had me cackling like a hyena.

..."Facebook’s content moderation to B2B SaaS marketing, you’ll see how much of your own life is determined by it.
Title: It starts with the lizard king"

My sides are in orbit, thanks for the delightful chuckle.

I think you're argument runs true:
"If you have made the unfortunate choice to participate in this bloodbath of an industry, you have two options: create a process to consistently deliver truly incredible products or listen to the siren song of sensationalism. For most people, option two is easier."

Hopefully with the rise in AI capability, quality will become as accessible as sensationalism.
Although, it doesn't hurt to put a little bit of icing on the cake!