#1 - Digital Butt Funnel
Censorship will exist as long as content is monetized by 3rd party ads.
“Advertising = Censorship” - @adamcurry
If open platforms (like podcasting) are going to beat legacy mass media models, they have to provide a better experience. Friendship Funnel Machine (a thread) https://t.co/tgVJeWj5kB
Paraphrasing Li Jin, people (or fans) crave relationships and connection - https://twitter.com/ljin18/status/1377775951287816197
This is supported by numerous studies showing that loneliness is on the rise. A reported 36% of all Americans (including 61% of young adults) feel “serious loneliness”.
The bedrock of any lasting relationship or connection should satisfy these two criteria:
Common Interests
Shared Experience New media is extremely well-positioned to offer what fans crave most (connections) compared to legacy mass media.
Friendship Criteria 1: Common Interests Niche media outlets (like podcasts) are automatic interest sorters. Pluck two random fans from any podcast audience and they will have 3 or more common interests. Common interests are the prerequisite for lasting friendships.
Friendship Criteria 2: Shared Experience These two random fans of the same podcast also have at least one shared experience in that they’re both listening to the same podcast every week. So why aren't podcast communities executing on what people (fans) crave most?
Podcasters are failing to ignite these dormant, yet ready-to-light, connections amongst their audience members. Increased interaction opportunities btw fans are the sparks required to ignite these prequalified friendships. How can podcasters create interaction opportunities?
They should be setting up digital butt funnels. Coined by Jon Taffer, a butt funnel is a high-traffic area at a nightclub purposefully made into a small opening thus forcing patrons to bump into each other as they walk through.
“I’m guessing there’s a few marriages out there that started at a butt funnel.” - Jon Taffer on butt funnels.
I'll explore some examples of digital butt funnels set up by podcasters with thriving communities in my next article. If any of my 3.5 followers are still reading, please reply with examples of podcasts that you feel have done a good job facilitating connections btw fans.
Here's the article version of this thread. Friendship Funnel Machine - podcasters should be creating digital butt funnels.