I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind lately.
And, in fact, I back-and-forthed with my pal Doberman Dan over the Marco Polo app for some 3 hours about it yesterday, as it’s such a fascinating topic. Anyway, this month’s Dan Kennedy newsletter (the one he does with Pete the Printer… do not bother asking me where to find it, they make it hard to find, seek ye Google) was extremely good.
Specfically:
A bit he did on how business is different and way less fun today than years past due to changes in character and mindset of customers/consumers. And he explained in half a page what I’ve spent the last year unsuccessfully trying to describe verbally to Stefania over many long hours of conversation.
The gist of it?
His observation in the lack of excitement about being successful compared to times past when the country was awash in opportunity & success and business magazines, hotel meetings always booked by businesses, seminars all over the place, and a US President even declaring US is in the business of being in business.
Anyone in the game back in early 2000s, 90s, 80s knows.
What changed?
Many things but I will just focus on something I noticed after leaving ALL social media at the end of 2018. I left everything in one swoop and focused all my energies on reading actual books (mostly biographies) and hunkering down to write lots of books and grow my business outside of the noise and stupidity I was seeing all around me on social.
Then, in early 2023 (after Elon bought Twitter) I returned there.
And it was a totally different planet than late 2018.
It was nothing like the Twitter from 4 years prior.
I suspect most people who had been there during those 4 years didn’t even notice the change. Clicks & algorithms were obviously already a thing before that. But upon returning everything was almost entirely click & algorithm-driven to the point where it was dominated by absolute talentless hacks and blatant grifters without a single ounce of marketing skill or having spent any time grinding to build and grow or produce anything have platforms of millions of followers (a lot of them bots, most likely, though) due to the phenomenon.
They get paid not on producing or selling anything, but shock and rage bait.
Or, in some cases, being one of Elon’s baby mamas.
It’s almost become like a giant Jerry Springer episode in some ways.
Nothing is produced.
Success is not so much earned as granted, and then measured as metrics/numbers.
No sales of anything required or even mentioned.
It’s even affected the entertainment industry where now casting decisions are being based not on talent but social media following numbers. A producer lamenting this last year I quoted at the time put it perfectly when he said what everyone is thinking:
“Everyone’s a celebrity but nobody’s got talent”
So that is one of many reasons behind today’s change, imo.
It’s all fleeting, though, as all illusions are.
And the ending is predictable.
Stefania sees me talk about this and says I sound giddy and am banking on it all crashing.
And, admittedly, she’s right.
Then we can get back to the business of selling instead of clicks.
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Ben Settle
