How the online ‘Advertorial’ Pandemic is killing Web3 Projects

So… I read a great post earlier today which I didn’t entirely agree with.

I don’t have to agree with EVERYTHING in a post to see value in it. Sometimes I won’t agree with a conclusion… sometimes I will agree with the conclusion but not on how the writer arrived there… sometimes I will think that some points made are nailing it, while some other ones are obscure and unrelatable.

So… this was one of those posts where I didn’t agree with everything that was said, but I still felt I benefited from reading it. It didn’t waste my time.

The articles conclusion in this case, was that founders and project owners try to pack far too much technical detail into marketing efforts for a web 3 aimed product.

While the story has some truth in it. The conclusion to me seems incomplete.

The track record 2020-23

From all the expressions of people online, some things seem clear:

1. NFT projects over the last few years have been disasters, with many out-of-pocket and upset. People want better explanations and understanding of why some projects pump and dump, how rug pulls happen, and where and how hacks are less likely to happen.
2. They are attracted with some FOMO feelings about memecoins, and yet, they also look for concrete reasons why some will be a one month wonder, while others will retain value more durably.

These things need techno-economic and mathematical explanations. There is no one line answer.

While many are fans of blockchain projects, and some are fans solely of coins, there is a completely different movement in various countries, objecting to the imposition of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies).

The explosive mix of FOMO with COVID stay-at-home boredom is gone. 2024 is probably going to be the ‘year of many questions’ and product owners need to have answers.

The rise of the ‘Advertorial’ Pandemic

Was a day… printed newspapers were the bread-and-butter media product. Editorial content was king. Journalists and Publication Teams didn’t allow the articles ‘subject’ to drive the narrative, their concern was to sell newspapers.

Advertisements were within 2-3 pages before the end of the publication, but readers were the real pay master. As the focus of an article, whether the subject approved or disapproved of the content didn’t matter. Some tabloids even published content about individuals knowing it to be somewhere between sensationalist and completely false, if, worse case scenario, the sales revenue could be projected to outweigh losses from law suits.

Things moved on. Online, people expect to just have to pay for their connectivity device and their data connection. The reader/consumer can no longer be relied upon as as source of income.

So in reporting on web3/blockchain related news, what we have, instead of impartial news intended to inform the reader, is carefully crafted corporate content, paid for by the subject of the article, and presented in a style as if it were honest, impartial news.

Hence the phrase ‘Advertorial’ – a fusion of the words ‘Advertisement’ and ‘Editorial’. Rather than having the best start-up product around, a well financed start-up simply needs to run the same article among the ‘usual suspects’ in order to corner the online readerships.

The problem with this approach is, unlike the old printed newspapers, who lived or died on the sword of the street news stand, or the cash register of the newsagent, the apex online news sites or bloggers, simply needs to get sign off from the project owner on the ‘proof’.

R.I.P. Project Marketing Success

It’s a little bit like having the best airbag in the motor industry. Once there were none. People died, and now they are law. As a product owner in ‘web3’ if you have the best ‘airbag’ in town, especially after all that happened the last 3 years, that should be a big selling point.

But ‘airbags’ are a boring topic for customers (until they crash and see their importance).

So, its really down to the publisher to capture the reader imagination to make the airbag super-cool. That’s the missing link.

On another issue today – Kristine Lillieneike said: ‘If we leave this development up to Tech Bros, we are in deep dodo.’

But this is it… online publishing is often going direct to publish ‘Tech Bro’ raw copy, adding none of the nuances that sell the big story of safety in a sexy way to regular users. If client pays, quibble free on raw copy, who will take time to do more?

This may be how the online ‘Advertorial’ Pandemic is killing Web3 Projects

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