Why do groups of people behave the way they do?, crypto's frontier and maze
Availability cascade and the importance of defining the next wave as an entrepreneur.
Why do groups of people behave the way they do?
Individuals in groups behave differently and may act in ways they wouldn't otherwise. This phenomenon, influenced by the Availability Cascade and Risk Regulation, was observed even before the internet. Marc Andreessen defines this in a recent interview as a combination of these human behavior factors.
Availability - From availability bias, focuses on things that are in front of us. A lot of time we only focus on things that are in front of us
Cascade - The process that goes from one person to another in a viral-like effect. It's like an avalanche - slow and then fast.
It's an avalanche right in front of people. What makes people flock to X and not to Y? The narrative may be emphasizing X instead of Y because X is most important. But there are opposite cases too. Nuclear energy is a great example. Due to its strong availability cascade, nuclear energy is perceived as an inferior energy source. However, we know that statistically, it's not true.
Narratives take on a life of their own and can shape group beliefs. Companies involve an availability cascade where groups form around a shared "thing". This "thing" defines the group and creates a reinforcing circle, leading to radicalization and a rejection of rational thoughts.
As entrepreneurs, we must try to spark an availability cascade in the target market for enthusiasts, adoption, and support of the product. Products growing and taking off are nothing but a representation of an availability cascade emerging.
Where I’m going with this?
The crypto space could see a builder summer. This time, not visible in prices but projects. I think the next frontier could be on making liquid what’s currently not. Thing of liquid culture, liquid talent, liquid attention, etc. Liquidity is a measure of market efficiency, and the “market” of these spaces is inefficient.
There is a reason why the music’s cultural impact is at least on par with gaming’s—but gaming is a $185 billion market today, 8x the size of the recorded music industry. Gatekeepers stifle innovation and monopolize economics, which limits a market’s size.
When a creator can’t earn a living, the flywheel can’t spin.
The internet made media universally accessible at the expense of creators. Crypto media could change this. Horne writes, “Cryptomedia can be thought of as hypermedia with built-in property rights.”
Culture’s atomic units will be traceable and monetizable. Your internet footprint do make money. It’s just that we don’t see any of it. Today, we’re explicitly creating structures to acknowledge ownership, check Mirror, Music, Showtime, etc. Tomorrow, these mechanisms will be passive. From a tracking-cookie to a wallet-cookie.
I’ve come across a burnout for early founders article and couldn’t resist but to read diagonally and diagnose myself. The following 4 measures are categorized as “pattern interrupts” and are meant to stop stimulation patterns from going into a vicious cycle.
Dopamine fasting, short-term trade-offs of ~10-20% of your time for a 2-10x improvement in your long term performance. For example, every evening, schedule 2 hours of downtime where you’re removing yourself from stimulation; going for a walk, reading fiction.
Time boxing your workday is a forcing function to become more effective with your time. For example, you decide that you’re going to work from 9 am to 7 pm, six days a week.
Physical activities can teach you to modulate your nervous system between sympathetic and parasympathetic states (“fight or flight” and “rest and digest”). For example, cold showers and saunas.
A multi-day meditation retreat is a typically more profound pattern interrupt. For example, Psychedelic, Meditation or Nature Retreats.