Most content publishing innovation is in the Global North, practically and symbolically. A massive market, otherwise penetrated by tech, is getting left out. The answer is not software but networks of empathy. The opportunity is massive.

"...The walls that separate writing from success have not come down yet. Despite the best intentions. This is because every innovation on publishing is being born in the US or someplace like it and that means access to funding. That makes it a tech story. Not a story story, not an art story or anything like that. Now, that gap is a huge opportunity for potential investors. Imagine. Millions of people everywhere want to read, write, record, listen. And many will pay a bit. The gap is two fold- the cultural context of consumption and the tech context of the publisher narrative. It is driven by our innate belief that software is eating the world. Well, seems to me COVID is, but never mind that. How about this? We do not have to deny that software is eating the world-but we can agree that organic, self-organizing networks make it seem like a small starter on an economy class meal. Can we start saying that software started it all but everything else is now finding its own path? Take no-code and low-code. If that is the future, are we not saying that we are abstracting out software? Would it not make it’s cultural dominance diminish even as it remains a pivotal player behind the scenes?

The world of innovation is as much about narrative, drama and culture as it is about tech. The world of writing and reading is as much about all that too. When tech brings writing to us, it can do a huge service by making it easier for everyone to earn money. That means breaching the final frontier-telling each of us-hey, read this thing that this totally unknown person wrote this morning. That requires a relook at networks and what they are supposed to do. A network should be able to create empathy based opportunities for the faceless, nameless folks on them and make them into giants. Or at least, give them a fair shot. Substack is doing good stuff. Wattapad is doing good stuff. So is Medium-well don’t get me started on the paywall. I did earn a tiny bit there. But we need to go one step further. Explode the market. Do not let a few eruptions sound like it’s Diwali. You know what Diwali is, right?

Enjoy the rest of the week".

Note-Many thanks to Marcos Paulo Prado for a great snap on Unsplash.