“We need more reach.”
“This will get a lot of clicks.”
“The customer will not be happy with these numbers.”
We have heard these narratives non-stop since our media careers began more than 15 years ago. They are thought patterns that have become normalized in newsrooms and advertising agencies around the world.
And this is just the beginning of the problems with the current state of the media.
The truth is this: Web2 media is broken.
The traditional models and ways of doing things in the media no longer work. This behavior did not come out of nowhere. So…how did we get here?
With the rise of social media, floodgates of traffic have been opened to media websites. Media companies saw an unprecedented explosion of reach from these platforms and became addicted to this traffic, which helped fuel the increase in programmatic advertising. This is the technology that powers those pesky banner ads on your favorite media websites, from The New York Times to YouTube. The more people visit your website, the more impressions the ad will get and the more the platform will be paid.
Interestingly, the same platforms that fueled this business model ended up changing their algorithms after seeing how much revenue they were allowing to leave their ecosystem by encouraging users to click away from Facebook or Twitter to a third-party publisher website. Then, in 2015, Facebook’s notorious algorithm change decimated the traffic sources of hundreds of media companies to keep more of their traffic within Facebook. Due to declining revenue, some media properties have even gone out of business.
We know it because we have lived it. As editor-in-chief of SPIN, Matt saw firsthand how traffic doesn’t equal revenue when the publication was forced into layoffs despite exceeding growth targets. As Director of Innovation and Culture of daily eliteAlejandro saw how the post drove Facebook traffic to a Sold to daily mail only for the traffic to drop significantly after the algorithm change.
As media companies prioritized audience scale over quality and optimized for algorithmic platforms like Facebook and Google, there were a number of alarming developments.
First, the media platforms found themselves caught in a clickbait race to the bottom. As algorithms rewarded sensational headlines and snap fingers, the quality of coverage waned. The race to be first on a story also produced public embarrassment for major media brands, which had to retract factually inaccurate reports. As credibility eroded, public trust in the media hit a low. historical low.
Second, the people became the product. Programmatic advertising reduced us to eyeballs to be monetized and thrown away. In the eyes of publishers, no distinction was made between the quality and quantity of an audience. Simply put, we were all reduced to one metric: traffic. By virtue of working at social media companies, the brightest minds in Silicon Valley ended up building an ad optimization machine the likes of which have never been seen before. As a result, publishers began to prioritize their advertisers over their audiences.
Third, as publishers and platforms optimized for ad revenue, they began to attack our privacy. Platforms began tracking users across the web without their explicit consent to sell more ads, even though technically, users gave their consent by agreeing to the overly vague and legally detailed “terms and conditions.”
The rise of user tracking using pixels and cookies led to privacy breaches all over the web. Platforms could now track users’ every move, click, and keystroke, even beyond their own website, to serve them “better” ads.
Technology has always fueled storytelling. Gutenberg’s printing press catalyzed the information revolution. The invention of the Internet forced print publications to become digital. The rise of smartphones made digital media embrace mobile devices. Web3 technology is of the same caliber. And with that, we have the opportunity to build something better.
Centered on an ecosystem of decentralized, trustless, permissionless, and interoperable technology products, Web3 technologies have the power to create fairer models that benefit everyone. They return ownership to users, bypass the gatekeepers who control traditional media and social platforms, and allow creators and their communities to share the value they create.
But significantly, this tokenized revolution will not only change the way stories are created and consumed, it also has the power to fundamentally redefine relationships that have been cemented for centuries. This technology can actually help us foster the deeper and more meaningful human relationships that we want. This comes down to the difference between audience and community.
The public is aware that you exist. They may recognize your brand and see you on their social media. They may even attend your events or buy your products. But ultimately, there is a limit to their involvement, and to a large extent, they are on the receiving end of the content that they produce. As coverage has become more homogeneous to exploit algorithms, media brands have become interchangeable, so readers have little incentive to choose one over the other. On web2, consumers became loyal to the owner, not the brand.
In contrast, the community wants to win together. And in web3, more often than not, they actually have a literal interest in doing it. By aligning incentives and rewarding participation through decentralized ownership and governance, communities are the primary drivers of value creation.
At web3, digital ownership is front and center. For the first time since the origins of the Internet, the blockchain allows for real estate. Now media companies and creators can build community in a digital asset economy as an end in itself and monetize directly by sharing the value they create.
We envision a future where digital publishers are freed from the mindless tyranny of clicks, pageviews, and CPMs. Users will no longer be the product that is sold on antiquated and exploitative systems; they will be active partners and owners of the content and experiences that are created.
Introducing the Now Network
Because of these experiences, we wanted do things differently from day one. If you visit nftnow.com, you will notice that there are no banner ads. We refuse to implement programmatic advertising because of the misaligned incentives it creates to prioritize advertisers over users, sensationalize coverage, and violate user privacy. We believe media companies shouldn’t show you ads; they should serve you opportunities.
We also refuse to include pixels and cookies to track our users. Principles like consent matter more to us. We believe that privacy is a fundamental human right and must be respected on the Internet.
Now Network is our next step in pioneering a community-focused media model and building a creator-friendly future. The Now Pass is the key that opens that door. You can learn more about the details and mechanics at walknow.xyz.
This is how Now Network will begin to share the value it creates with our community of members.
Provide excellent service to our community with exclusive content and access
From early access to information and insights to curated private chats where you can connect with experts and other builders in your industry, the Now Network will give you the tools you need to succeed along with inside access to the leading minds of web3.
Now Pass holders will also be eligible for exclusive access to our acclaimed real-life and virtual events, including our blockbuster events The Gateway, NFT100 and nft now presents, along with our satellite events at Art Basel Miami, NFT NYC, Frieze LA , ETH Denver, Faena Rose Miami, Jackson Hole and many more.
Increase retention and reward participation
We believe media should be more than a one-way street. With Now Pass, community members will be incentivized to engage with content and provide feedback through our reward mechanisms. By realigning incentives and reimagining how a publisher can create and share value in a web3 context, we will foster deeper, more authentic connections and a greater sense of loyalty.
Decentralization of content creation and curation
We want our community to become co-creators of the stories that are told. Now Network is our first step towards progressive decentralization. We believe this will create a more inclusive and transparent ecosystem to incubate ideas and raise new voices. We will be transitioning some of our most popular content series (e.g. Next Up) to a community-curated Token-Curated Records (TCR) model with on-chain voting that allows our community members to weigh in on who and what gets covered.
This is just the beginning
The Now Network will be built over time, not overnight. We are being intentional and taking our time to create something sustainable. This is a first step, a foundation for all our initiatives in building the future of tokenized media. We may not always do everything right, and that’s okay. Experimentation is a fundamental part of pioneering a new paradigm. But our commitment to this space is long-term, so we’ll be building in public for months, years, and decades to come. We invite you to join us to learn, grow and co-create this future together.
You are more than a pageview. It’s time to change the relationship between publishers and their communities.
Sincerely,
Matt Medved & Alejandro Navia
Co-founders of nft now
