A THEORY OF MEDIA

THE AMOUNT OF MEDIA BEING PRODUCED AND DISTRIBUTED DIGITALLY HAS PARABOLICALLY INCREASED AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO. THIS BREAKS DISCOVERY AT THE POINT WHERE DIGITAL GOODS MEET THEIR MARKET. YOU CAN EASILY OBSERVE THIS WITH SPOTIFY WHERE THE POSSIBILITY OF SIMPLY BRINGING MUSIC TO MARKET AND HOPING THAT IT WILL SUCCEED ON ITS MERITS AS MEDIA HAS BECOME UNREALISTIC. CONSEQUENTLY, MUSIC SUCCEEDS BASED ON PATTERNS OF DISTRIBUTION.

I’VE BEEN TOLD THAT THE QUALITY OF MEDIA WAS ONCE A FACTOR IN DISCOVERY. THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE IF IT EVER WAS. WE HAVE REACHED A SCALE OF PRODUCTION WHERE TASTE HAS BECOME IMPRACTICAL. THIS MAKES WAY FOR A NEW KIND OF PRODUCT; A PRODUCT WHERE THE MEDIA IS INCIDENTAL BUT THE DISTRIBUTION IS FORMATIVE. LIKE RIVERS FINDING THE OCEAN, THE MOST EASILY DISTRIBUTED GOODS WILL ACCRUE VALUE ON THAT BASIS ALONE.

THIS IS A DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE CURRENT AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. IF A CANDIDATE HAD A SET OF PRINCIPLES AND SET OUT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS BASED ON QUALITIES LIKE INTEGRITY AND HONESTY, THEY WOULD BE POORLY EQUIPPED AS A CANDIDATE. THE BEST POSSIBLE CANDIDATE IS THE ONE WHO SAYS THE THING MOST DESIRED BY THEIR AUDIENCE IN ANY GIVEN MOMENT. THEIR MOST ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTIC IS THE LIQUIDITY OF THEIR POSITION. BELIEVING IN ANYTHING HAS BECOME A LIABILITY OR A LUXURY.

MEME COINS ARE VALUABLE BECAUSE QUALITY IS NO LONGER A MEANINGFUL MARKET FACTOR AND LIQUIDITY IS EVERYTHING. PERHAPS THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE TO SOME EXTENT. WE ARE CURRENTLY WITNESSING THE PARABOLIC IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBILITY AND THE DECLINING IMPORTANCE OF QUALITY. THIS IS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF PORTING OURSELVES INTO THE DIGITAL. PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS NO LONGER EXIST. WE ARE POST MEDIA SCARCITY AND IT IS TERRIBLE AND AWESOME.

THE PREMISE THAT QUALITY WAS EVER VALUABLE IS A MEANING MAKING PRISM THROUGH WHICH WE VIEW THE PAST. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN QUALITY DID NOT OBJECTIVELY EXIST. THE OPTIONS WE COULD TAKE WERE THE OPTIONS WE TOOK. LOOKING BACKWARDS, WE CAN PRETEND THAT WE OPTED FOR THE BETTER OPTION. IN REALITY, WE OPTED FOR THE MOST LIQUID OPTION. WE HAVE ALWAYS DONE THE ONLY THING WE COULD DO. IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO PRETEND THAT OUR TASTES ARE BASED IN THE QUALITIES OF THINGS.

DEFINING IDENTITY THROUGH MEDIA CONSUMPTION WILL BE LOOKED UPON AS A QUAINT RELIC OF THE PAST. WE ARE ALREADY DISASSEMBLING THE INDUSTRIES THAT RUN ON THIS MODE OF IDENTITY FORMATION. ACTUALLY KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THE MUSIC YOU ARE LISTENING TO IS A HINDRANCE. KNOWLEDGE IS FRICTION BY ANOTHER NAME.

THE STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL MEME COIN HAVE BEEN ARTICULATED BY EVERY CYCLE’S RESPECTIVE PROPHET AND THEY ALL SAY THE SAME THING: COMMUNITY. COMMUNITIES WILL BE DEFINED BY THE LIQUIDITY OF THEIR MEMBERS. LIQUID CONSTITUENCIES WILL COMPRISE ADAPTABLE COMMUNITIES CAPABLE OF BEING IN THE MOMENT AND CATERING TO THE NEEDS OF THE GIVEN MOMENT. THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERISTICS WILL MATTER IN THE COMING MEME COMMUNITY WARS:

STRONG OPINIONS HELD LIGHTLY
HIGH CONVICTION & DEDICATION ON ISSUES THAT CAN TURN ON A DIME WHEN THE COMMUNITY DECIDES TO GO ANOTHER WAY
THE ABILITY TO FLUIDLY RECEIVE AND PROJECT THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY ONTO THE SELF AND ALSO TO PROJECT THE SELF OUTWARDS ONTO THE COMMUNITY
THE ABILITY TO ARTICULATE THE VIBE OF THE COMMUNITY ACROSS MULTIPLE MEDIUMS WITH NUANCE AND ACCURACY
THE ABILITY TO BE PRESENT IN THE CURRENT MOMENT WITH THE CURRENT THING
FRICTIONLESS CONSENSUS
ECSTATIC COMMUNION
LACK OF CENSORSHIP & INHIBITION
EXTREME PERMISSIONLESSNESS

THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY BUT IT ALSO ISN’T BORING; THE MEME WARS WILL BE ECSTATIC. LARGE SUMS OF MONEY WILL CHANGE HANDS QUICKLY. FIND YOUR PEOPLE AS SOON AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN AND LEARN HOW TO MOVE AS ONE. WE WILL NO LONGER HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO MUCH OF ANYTHING AS INDIVIDUALS ANYMORE. ISOLATION WILL KILL YOU FASTER THAN COMMUNITY.