Social media turns virality into the main growth lever, making spectacle and controversy more valuable than product substance. Even criticism boosts distribution because every view and comment feeds recommendation algorithms.
— This attention-driven business model incentivizes stunts over utility, degrading product quality and public trust while rewarding manipulative marketing.
Max Daly
2025.10.01
45% relevant
Like attention‑driven startups, 'pink cocaine' relies on spectacle and aesthetic branding (Barbie‑pink powder, designer spoons, celebrity mentions) to win distribution on Instagram and club scenes; the article shows attention dynamics, not product substance, driving market success in an illicit context.
Ted Gioia
2025.09.18
72% relevant
The article documents how musicians are forced to act as general 'content creators' on TikTok, competing with non‑music content for seconds of attention, and earning follows rather than streams—an attention‑first dynamic that mirrors the broader shift where virality outweighs product substance.
Katherine Dee
2025.09.09
68% relevant
The piece describes how spectacle and distribution—paid influencers and bot‑amplified virality—drive sales of low‑quality AI goods on Amazon, echoing the thesis that attention mechanics outweigh product substance in today’s markets.
Felix Pope
2025.08.21
65% relevant
Creators like 'Laudits' optimize for spectacle and virality (drone shots, heated exchanges, livestreams) to build distribution, illustrating how attention-first tactics, not institutional substance, now power political influence.
Julia Steinberg
2025.06.30
100% relevant
The article notes virality is a close correlate of user growth, Cluely hires only influencers/engineers with 100k+ followers, and boasts revenue driven by publicity stunts.
Erik Hoel
2025.06.26
70% relevant
It laments founders-as-celebrities and 'extremely online' posturing, suggesting spectacle and persona are overtaking substance—consistent with the attention-driven model where virality trumps utility.
Uncorrelated
2025.04.05
55% relevant
The article’s finding that a post’s likes are overwhelmingly predicted by the trailing 10‑post average (~86% variance explained) and that higher volume beats longer content aligns with an attention-first dynamic where distribution and momentum, not intrinsic product 'quality,' govern success—mirroring the broader thesis about virality driving business models.