The idea of having a website that makes money is revolutionary, but operating within a digital media company like Vox Media that also makes money is key to weathering the storm. Vox Media's resilience is attributed to being founded on community and web products, which are seen as resilient during digital media turmoil. Despite being busy with hosting podcasts, managing people, and being a father, decision-making at Vox and for the individual revolves around panic and speed, acknowledging that a quick decision can be proven wrong swiftly.
On this special episode of Decoder, science educator and YouTuber Hank Green is guest hosting. And the guest? It’s Nilay Patel, who sat down with Hank to discuss building The Verge, the state of media, and the future of the web. Also: whether the fediverse is worth investing in, and how social platforms’ control of distribution has shaped the internet.
In the words of Hank: “Nilay has got some weird ideas about the internet. For example, that he’s going to revolutionize the media through blog posts. He keeps saying it, but what the hell does he mean? While I was busy building my business on other people’s platforms, Nilay has built something very rare in the year 2024: a website that publishes content and isn’t behind a paywall yet still makes money. How does he do it? How does he make decisions? How is The Verge structured? The tables have turned.”
Links:
- Why Hank Green can’t quit YouTube for TikTok — Decoder
- Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse and what comes next — Decoder
- Just buy this Brother laser printer everyone has, it’s fine — The Verge
- Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers — Futurism
- The fediverse, explained — The Verge
- Can ActivityPub save the internet? — The Verge
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23851875
The Vergecast and Decoder are live at SXSW this weekend, March 8th and 9th. SXSW attendees can see both shows live on the official Vox Media Podcast Stage at the JW Marriott, presented by Atlassian. Learn more at voxmedia.com/live.
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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