Pivoting Out of the Attention Economy, with Medium's Tony Stubblebine

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Jan 16, 2024

Tony Stubblebine, Publisher of Better Humans and its sister publications at Medium, discusses pivoting out of the attention economy into something more meaningful. They explore Medium's focus on quality, the launch of their own instance on Macedon, and the value of writing and recommending content on Medium.

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ANECDOTE

From Power User to CEO

Tony Stubblebine transitioned from a power user and publication manager on Medium to becoming its CEO.
His deep understanding of the platform and proven success made him the ideal candidate to lead Medium.

INSIGHT

The Attention Economy's Downfall

Prioritizing attention over substance is the internet's core problem, driven by ad-based business models.
This focus on attention leads to clickbait and content mills, neglecting the true purpose of communication: positive life transformation.

ADVICE

The Power of Human Curation

Use human curation to discern between life-changing content and clickbait.
Expert curation is a valuable service, not gatekeeping, as it prioritizes substance over superficial engagement.

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Something happened when the internet turned into an ad-driven business. Incentives became oriented around grabbing attention over valuing substance and connection.

What’s happening now in the Fediverse gives us a chance to reverse that. To pivot out of the attention economy into something more meaningful.

Tony Stubblebine has already emphasized a focus on quality at Medium. As the publisher of Better Humans and its sister publications, Tony was one of Medium’s most successful community members. He knew the platform better than almost anyone and so when it came time to look for a CEO, he got the job in July 2022.

In January 2023, Medium set up a Mastodon instance at me.dm. Tony’s said that he believes Mastodon is “an emerging force for good in social media,” although he’s still exploring what that means for his company.

In today’s episode, Mike and Tony discuss their reasons for wanting to participate in the Fediverse, going so far as standing up their own instances for their communities. They also discuss what’s wrong with the attention economy, a framework for high-quality recommendations, and why it’s an exciting time for entrepreneurs, builders, writers and consumers.

Highlights of this conversation include:

• under the hood on Medium’s algorithm

• why human curation is a true service

• optimizing for substance

• the third business model era of the internet

• how to get started in the Fediverse

💰 Mastodon is a non-profit that runs on donations from the community. You can help Mastodon succeed by supporting the organization via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mastodon

🔎 You can follow Tony on Mastodon at https://me.dm/@coachtony.

✚ You can connect with Mike McCue on Mastodon at https://flipboard.social/@mike, or via his Flipboard federated account, where you can see what he’s curating on Flipboard in the Fediverse, at https://flipboard.social/@mike@flipboard.com

💡 To learn more about what Flipboard's doing in the fediverse, sign up here: https://about.flipboard.com/a-new-wave/