# I left my full-time gig + 7 ways the internet is changing

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![](../images/cf737df61f88.jpg)

In April, I visited Oaxaca, crossing off a long-time bucket list item.
The city is one of the political, cultural, and culinary capitals of
Mexico.\
I left with my stomach and spirit full.

\
Hi there!
=========

I won’t bury the lede. It’s been a big few months. I’ve stepped down as
VP of Content at Crossbeam (I greatly appreciate everyone who [left a
nice note on
LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7211747542663839745/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=I-left-my-full-time-gig)
\<3).

I’m going solo, incubating an “in-house” brand (subscribe to
[Sabbatical](http://sabbatical.email?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=I-left-my-full-time-gig)!)
as well as advising and consulting companies on how to grow audiences
and launch content departments under the sorta-silly banner [Gate Check
Studios](https://gatecheckstudios.com/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=I-left-my-full-time-gig).

This is all motivated by the most substantial shift in internet dynamics
since …2007? What are those changing dynamics?

Glad you asked!

\
What happened?
==============

The way people read, share, and find things is different now.

Mainly:

- SEO and discovery via search is being replaced by AI summaries and
  content.

- The social media platforms have killed the “social graph” and replaced
  it with an algorithm. They’ve also penalized linking to outside sites.

- A renewed focus on profitability and sustainability has left VC-backed
  brands with less patience for the slow work of audience and brand
  building.

(This is the gist. [I wrote more about this here in
January](https://www.seanblanda.com/whats-about-to-happen/?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=I-left-my-full-time-gig))

![](../images/f9f85b2bb4ce.jpg)

# So, what now?

Here is the exciting part. To adapt to the new landscape, I am orienting
everything I do moving forward around the following principles.

**1 - Human-based discovery over machine-based discovery.**\
Machine powered is Google/SEO. It's the TikTok algo. It’s paid ads. It's
the "for you" tab. If you rely on these, you are going to get rocked by
a flood of shoddy AI content.

Human powered is email. It's word of mouth. It's the old-school social
graph. It's Slack communities and "dark social". It's WhatsApp groups.
These are humans sending things to other humans. This is the place worth
spending time in. As a result…

**2 - Grow slow to grow far**.\
Many of the machine-based discovery tactics allowed brands to grow
quickly. It’s how *Vice* once had a billion dollar evaluation. That
gravy train is over. What’s left will take longer and require more
patience. Many companies won’t be willing to do this. Those that are
willing to grow more slowly will be rewarded for their patience by being
the only audience left standing. Because…

**3 - Your audience is your value.**\
When it’s harder to reach new audiences via SEO, advertising, and social
and takes longer to build your own, how do brands reach new people
quickly? They sponsor, support, or partner with ***existing***
audiences. Having an audience that loves your work will be like sitting
on top of an oil field.

**4 - When in doubt, assume something will be atomized**. Individuals
and small teams can now do what used to require well-funded teams. This
is partly thanks to better tools. But also because the audience is used
to following and financially supporting “creators” and smaller
communities and brands. These smaller brands will continue to peel off
audience from older, and often larger entities.

**5 - Think like a reporter.**\
With the increased utility of small teams and individuals, the speed in
which work is repackaged and aggregated has only increased ([and for now
is quite
profitable](https://www.tiktok.com/find/how-to-make-money-from-reposting-videos?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=I-left-my-full-time-gig)!)
This will be a commodity and the brands that survive are those that do
original research, sit atop original data, and uncover new insights via
old fashioned interviews, reporting, and investigation.

**6 - IRL wins. Every time.**\
We have enough tools to connect digitally. The most engaged audiences
will want to meet their peers IRL. It’s more fun and it’s fertile ground
for differentiation. Experiment with new event formats that fit your
particular audience early and often.

**7 - Incumbents are ripe for disruption**.\
If you were playing an SEO game, it was better to be an incumbent. You
could “attack” anyone trying to climb the rankings for any keyword. If
you were playing a social media game, my follower count from years of
posting made me more valuable than someone with only 100 followers. Now,
none of that matters.

\-\
These are the reasons I think it’s better to be independent. I’ll be
exploring all of these themes in the months to come while I work on the
Sabbatical and other things. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of
this. Jam the “reply” button. \<3