Why doesn’t blogging work for most people? 

Here are the Top Ten Failures of Blogging that I see:

1.  There are little to no effective channels.  Most of the time, you are speaking to a brick wall.
2.  There is little to no control of exposure.  Everything you say is public for the whole world to see, forevermore.  You can’t say “This if for widows only” or “This is for Marine Dads only.”
3. Anonymity of readers.  No self-censoring, no consequences.  Hateful people get off on being hateful, and they will take the time to harass for fun, discouraging participation.
4. Limited weapons against SPAM.
5. You don’t know who your readers are.  There are already about 100 people reading this blog, but I know who only a handful of you are.  I have no idea why you others are here, what sex or age you are, what occupation you have.  Nothing.  That can be disconcerting and can lead the blogger to make poor content decisions, because the #1 “Know your audience!” rule can’t be followed.
6. Competition for attention leads to forced controversy between bloggers and other negative energy that soon grows tiresome.
7. To grow an audience, you need to mostly stick to one subject, like being a “tech blogger” or a “mommy blogger” or “a social media expert.”
8. Blogs are set up to be like soap boxes; they are not conducive to true conversation that demands equal status.
9. Blogs require consistent upkeep; you need to make multiple posts every week to build and keep an audience.  Most of us just don’t have the time and/or desire.
10. Readers must understand RSS, which is not mainstream-friendly, or else go from blog to blog to blog to try to keep up.  Tiresome. 

Micro-blogging isn’t much better.  In fact, it brings new problems.

The Hive is different.  If you close your eyes, it’s hard (if not impossible) to imagine your place inside the blogosphere, but the Hive is easy to see in your mind.  You are at the center.  Always.  Relevant, protected, safe channels connect to you, and information almost effortlessly flows in TO you and out FROM you.

There is but one Hive.  But there are also infinite hives.  Your 3D “Biker Babe” hive will look different from your 3D “Nurse” hive.  And my “Mom” hive will look different from your “Mom” hive.

The Hive will buzz with true conversation and sharing.  Without the extraneous noise.  Without the SPAM.  And, most especially, without the trolls.

Under any hat, there may be one or more subhats.  Since Louis has twins, his personally chosen father hat might look like this:

• Parent
•   Father
•     Twins
•       Paternal
•         Boy/girl
•    Toddlers

Louis can be offered discussion groups to participate in, for any of these hats and subhats.  Like maybe he’d like to learn more about typical twin behavior as they get older and wants to talk to parents who have boy/girl twins of various ages.  Or Louis can create his own groups, if he so desires – perhaps inviting local people he meets from the Parents of Twin Toddlers social area, for example, to potentially create playgroups.

But even if he doesn’t participate in groups about parenting, he can still make content for them.

Let’s say that Louis decides to create a “lesson” on how to get your toddler(s) to eat vegetables, which is a video he has (hypothetically) shot.  He uploads it wearing his “Father-toddler” hat.  Two ads (maximum) are attached to it.  One is an ONI (Offers and Invites, pronounced “oh-knee”) that could promote any one of the products that Louis personally uses and recommends under that hat (if any).  One ONI in Louis’s collection might be for a tag blanket that his (hypothetical) friend Donna makes and sells by mail order. 

ONIs are demand fulfillment advertising and Louis would get compensated for every purchase made as a result of his ONI.  Most ONIs with take the form of discounts, like cents off coupons and deals like “buy one get one free.”

You know how the Japanese use their phones like a debit card to make purchases?  The Hive will utilize that technology, getting people who are skittish about allowing access to their funds to slowly adopt the concept, by first allowing access to their Hive account only.  So if I’m Louis’s online friend and I see him endorse a stroller available at my local Target that I’m very interested in, I simply “accept” the ONI.  At the store’s checkout, I allow my phone to be quickly scanned.  This gives me the discount and Louis the credit for my purchase. 

Notice how ONI advertisers don’t have to pay anything until and unless there is an actual sale!  This will help make the Hive extremely attractive to global, national, regional and local advertisers of all sizes.

I might have many items all at once, picked from numerous Hive co-members over several days.  I get a created shopping list (that’s up to you independent developers to build), a map that lays out the most gas-efficient path to shop the different stores I want to hit (ditto), special prices for many of my purchases, and credits for the people I took the ONIs from.

The second ad type that can be attached to Louis’s video will be a WHAM (from a military acronym meaning “winning minds and hearts”).  WHAMs are demand awareness advertising (which the Web can’t do, btw, a failure that is negatively impacting our economy).  Louis will get a percentage of the “pay per click” revenue generated. 

Everybody in the Hive will know that WHAMs are not endorsed.  But if enough people click “X” on an ad, then it will stop being distributed by the Hive.  Get enough terminations and the advertiser may be permanently dropped.

Note that both ONIs and WHAMs are appropriate to the hat in question, so they are most likely relevant.  The Hive can even help ensure relevancy by factoring in the receiver as well as the transmitter, as everything in the Hive is independent, but relational.

Note, too, that Louis (and everybody else) has the power to distribute the ads, not the advertisers themselves.  This holds advertisers accountable (e.g., give your top executives millions of dollars in bonuses while laying off workers and helping yourself to public funds, and your advertising will likely STOP!) 

The price charged for WHAMS will depend on the demand for the ad inventory of a particular hat or subhat.  The highest paying ad will be the one that actually gets placed (similar to the way that Adsense works).  BUT, this can be overridden, because members themselves are in control.  At any time, users can give the products and services they like a break, to help them get started.  Again, this ensures that individuals, startups and small companies can compete against large corporations with deep pockets. 

So now let’s say that Louis’s video is so funny and well liked, it jumps to other hats and then goes viral.  What started out as a free video will automatically start being charged for.  The price depends (as it always will in the Hive) on

1. demand factors
2. the size of the audience it is being presented to

The price is dynamic and can change within minutes, or even seconds if something is going viral.  Of course, the price can go down as fast as it went up as the saturation point within first-adopton circles is reached.  The lower price could then generate a second wave that penetrates the Hive deeper, and so on.

Remember that the Hive is broken down into lots of different spaces – all those geometric shapes that represent individual broadcasts and group discussions.  If Michael Arrington wants to put Louis’s video into TechCrunch’s feed, then he’s going to pay much more than if Jane Doe wants to show it to a small intimate group of friends.  (Note: Ads never get attached in Intimate space.)

But here’s the thing.  If people start cloning Louis’s video from Arrington’s feed in order to place it elsewhere, then Arrington will get a cut of that money, along with Louis.  Also, ARRINGTON’S ads will be on the video when it is shown in TechCrunch’s feed, not Louis’s.   And they won’t be for taggie blankets but relevant to Arrington’s tech-curious readers.  And Louis will get a cut of that revenue, too, just as he will if the video is shown in a biker group and has Harley ads attached. 

Arrington’s readers will get to see the video for free.

***This is the same way that newspapers and magazines work. Publishers pay for created content (from employees or free lancers or syndicates) and then get compensated because that content becomes ad inventory.***

So Hive users will be constantly debited and credited as they naturally give and take with the Hive, doing essentially the same things that we are already doing now.  Nobody will have to put in their own money.  Advertisers will supply the bulk of the cash that gets allocated by Hive activity.  For many Hive members, their account will be a wash, but others will come out ahead, some will be able to earn a living and a small percentage may even “get rich.”  In the Hive, content is financially rewarded.  The better the content, the more money it will generate.

But money doesn’t just go to creators, but also to distributors.  Creators get a larger cut for the selling of an object than distributors do; distributors get a larger cut of the generated ad revenue than creators do. 

If you have purchased a copy for any sized group, it will be stored in your chamber and can be retrieved by search via “the beeline,” which can also benefit you, but that’s a future post.

I want to make one last point while I’m using Louis Gray as an example.  Here is a photo of his adorable twins:

In the Hive, ownership is respected.  In the Hive, I would have to pay a small amount to Louis to use his photo in a post like this one.  Perhaps Louis wouldn’t even want to allow that.  He will have the ability to control how this photo is distributed.  He can say that it can go to “intimates” only, and perhaps “intimates of intimates.”  Or maybe even to tech hats only. 

BUT if Louis does not make such restrictions, then anybody can take this photo and use it in a mashup.  Though Louis would be compensated for that use (for the initial taking of it and if any revenue is generated from the new piece), he does lose creative control.

***The reason for this is because all deposits into the Hive will always be subject to the community’s creative forces, unless objects are restricted to relatively small groups.***

 More on this with the next hypothetical case study, featuring Lane Hartwell and the infamous Bubble video.

People are asking me about the funding I need and the exit I imagine.  This is the way I see it.

First, I don’t care about the money issue as much as I care about who the founding players are.  The Hive will take top quality resources to develop, including one of the major credit card transaction companies that has expertise in secure transactions, like Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

Second, the entire point of the Hive is to create a way for people and companies to make money doing what they love to do and are best at.  Ultimately, the Hive is for the members. 

I’m a capitalist, albeit a fractal capitalist, and certainly I want the investors and developers to make money.  Lots of money.  It’s only fair and reasonable.  But let’s face it, the Hive will essentially be a monopoly, at least for a decade or so.  If we get all the newspapers to upload to us exclusively, as is very likely, IMO – in other words, if professional journalism abandons the Web that has been less than friendly to it financially and culturally – then what will that make the Hive?  A company with tremendous power, too much power IMO, in the hands of too few.

I don’t want the Hive to become an overblown, arrogant and subjugating company like Microsoft or Google before it.  The bottom line emphasis of for-profit companies with too much market share inevitably creates an appetite for hegemony, which would be destructive to the Hive’s goal of being a tool for others to make money. 

Therefore, my desired exit is to sell the Hive to its users exactly three years from its launch date, which will probably be about two years from now.  At the point of sale, it will become a not-for-profit enterprise with the only goal being to serve its members.

The Hive will have three revenue streams, all of which will be extremely lucrative.  With a distributive business model, the majority of that revenue will go to the users and to operating costs from Day 1.  But on its third anniversary, the value of the Hive will be calculated, and the sale price will be funneled to all the people who have created it.  After this money is fully paid, then an even larger portion of proceeds will go to members.

For example, let’s say (as a total guess) that the Hive can first afford to give away 60% of revenue to creators and distributors.  After the investors and developers are paid off, that might rise to 75%, or whatever.

Whichever bank card we contract with, they will likewise have to open up their monopoly to other players at the start of Year 4.  At that point, Hive accounts will become a part of your regular debit or credit card account, whichever bank card you have.   But the one who wins our initial contract will still get the advantage of having all those millions of customers for three years, many of whom will stay.

That’s the way I see this playing out at this point.  That’s my own vision of it, at least, and that’s what I’m hoping I can keep on track, and will push towards.  Obviously, the people who put in the actual cash will want and expect stronger voices than mine.

But I’m a loud mouth.  Ha!  This is my vision, which I have developed over years and have a lot of heart invested in, not to mention money.  And the founding partners will be well taken care of and get a guaranteed exit.  It will be a win-win all around, so long as nobody gets too greedy.

So let me just say, I’m looking for people who understand the vision and are turned on by it, who have topnotch (and I mean TOP!) skills and resources, and who are relatively easy and pleasant to work with. 

I expect the Hive to be developed here, just outside of Portland, Oregon.  A beautiful place.  Though unbearably hot at the moment.  GADS!

This is amazing to me, because hats are THE way we intrinsically manage our lives.  Hats are the one best solution to naturally clear up all kinds of problems generated by poorly designed social networks that don’t take anthropology into account nor give social science its proper due.

Getting back to our hypothetical case study, I’ll list a few of the benefits of using hats.

Benefits to Louis Gray –

1. Louis’s intimate space is “always on.”  This means that whatever he is doing, his phone, other mobile device or computer will alert him to new messages from the people he is closest to.  He can also allow others on a temporary bases to cross into his intimate space, such as when he has a big business deal brewing and needs to stay accessble at all times.

2. On the other hand, Louis can choose to avoid work space by turning off his tech hat.  This means that his tech blogger role won’t bleed into his family time.  His tech hat will be there waiting for him when time and space are appropriate.

3.  Louis can have an infinite number of hats that can come and go.  Perhaps he wants to create a “Tourist – India” hat to get travel offers, meet people who live there, etc.  Or maybe he wants to create a “Jane Doe Supporter” hat during an election season. Louis will be able to find discussion groups, audiences and information/entertainment resources for whatever role or interest he wants to discover and talk about.  He won’t be strapped to “tech blogger” alone, in danger of losing his audience if his interests and roles shift.

4. Louis can either let down his hair or get more charged up in private groups.  Perhaps this isn’t important to Louis Gray, since he is very even keel, but it is a big issue to many others.  For example, my daughter is a young defense attorney.  She and her former classmates from law school were recently talking about how they have become scared of social networks.  Do you post your stuffy “I’m a lawyer” photo on Facebook?  That hardly seems appropriate.  But if not that persona, then what?  Prospective clients will Google you.  Prospective employers and partners will Google you.  Can you be less than 100% professional online 100% of the time without potentially harming yourself?  Well, in the Hive  you can, because hats and space let you control  your exposure.

5. Louis will always know who his readers are.  In the Hive, you deposit objects wearing your hat, but other members will accept and share that object wearing their own hat, and those hats might not be the same.   What percentage of Louis’s readers are working on startups?  Or are IT managers for large companies?  Google employees?  Just tech curious?  Louis will know exactly who his readers/viewers are, not just overall, but for every single object he deposits.  He will know the sex and age breakdown, too.  (“This video was appreciated by female engineers”, “That lesson went over big with startups”, “Hmmm, only over 50 men seemed to like my article on Pickleberry.com.”)

6.  Louis can create timeless pieces that may be active and generate income for months and perhaps even years to come.  Blog posts are tied to pages that have very short shelf life.  In the Hive, every object is independent and the shelf life between objects can vary greatly.  “Classic” pieces will remain visible and easily accessible for the full life of their relevancy, instead of being buried under subsequent posts or forever abandoned by broken links.

7. Louis’s Hive activity will provide a much greater benefit to this wallet than his Web activity can.  Hats not only allow users to discover relevant content and help manage their lives, they benefit advertisers by breaking down groups into well-targeted demographics.  This means higher quality, more effective advertising that brings Louis many opportunities to save money and make money.

8.  Louis can “will” his deposits to others.  He can do this quickly by hat, if he so chooses.  His creations will stay ad inventory and saleable and can thereby be a valuable gift.  Of course, the real benefit is that his creations and artifacts will survive his passing, potentially being passed on to his descendents and accessible by historians for generations.

Benefits to Louis’s readers –

1. No noise!  You get to read/view the “parts” of Louis that you are interested in.  Don’t like his political posts?  Just don’t take the feed to his political hat.  (I actually don’t know Louis’s political slant, but if I could opt out of Dave Winer’s political rants, maybe I’d still be taking his blog feed.)

2. Enjoyment of a long-tail buffet that doesn’t currently exist.  Are non-techie Sacramento Kings fans going to subscribe to Louis’s blog on the chance that he might write about their team once or twice a year?  Hardly.  And how would they know Louis’s blog exists even if they were interested?  Hat’s are essential to creating the endless channels that flow information and entertainment (including valuable ads) to people who will find them relevant.

In the final Part 3 of the hypothetical Louis Grey case study, I will get more detailed about how he can earn money from the Hive.

To start, I’m going to pick on Louis Gray, a tech blogger in Silicon Valley.

To make the Hive’s channels efficient and effective, members will divide themselves by HAT – that is, into the roles and passions they want to bring online.  This division is natural and intuitive; it reflects the top level means we all have of managing our lives in the real world, every day.

Louis might pick (not in passion-order here):

1. Tech Blogger
2. Father
3. Sports Nut
4. Music Lover

Louis would assign each one of these hats a color, so that he can see and manage his life, easily integrating his online experience with his offline reality.  For example, if he assigns “Tech Blogger” the color red and “Father” the color blue, then if he will instantly know the mental bucket incoming communications fall into, even before he knows who sent them and without the need to read a subject line.  Segregating communications, putting them into their proper “space” to save when time, mood and location is appropriate, becomes a breeze.

Which brings us to the second major, natural way we all manage our lives – by SPACE.

• A. Public
• B. Social
• C. Private
• D. Intimate

In the Hive, each of these spaces will be represented by geographical shapes.  These shapes can be tapped (on the iPhone, for example) or clicked (on a computer), to open up discussion that flows to us like email.  (The Hive will actually replace the need for email.)

1A Tech/Public – Four shapes govern any public space.  Under Louis’s tech hat/public space, he will likely use them all.  Again, all will be outlined in red, so that that Louis will know which ones are for his tech hat, even when they aren’t sorted by hat.

First, a triangle that brings up Louis’s own deposits along with their stats.

public broadcast, one to many, transmitter

Second, an inverted triangle that holds public objects from other broadcasters who Louis subscribes to wearing his Tech hat.  

aggregated public broadcasts, receiver side

Third, is a star that Louis uses to segregate out one particular broadcaster of interest, in order to catch all of his or her posts quickly.

single public broadcast, receiver side

Fourth, a trapezoid represents a “stage,” which in Louis’s case would be “The Social Geeks,” but the shape can also be used by “The Gilmore Gang,” etc.

public broadcast, few to many, transmitter side (and also receiver side)

 1B Tech/Social -  There is only one social symbol: a beehive shape.  Louis can move in and out of this space at any time and will see and can interact with posts from whomever happens to be there.  The social space is “live” only, and posts are kept only 60 minutes after the poster leaves.

Live, unstored, many to many 

1C Tech/Private – There are two shapes in the Private space

 A circle means that the space is private, but open to new members joining.  When somebody searchs “Louis Gray” or “tech blogger,” she will be shown Louis’s public feed and any open private groups he might belong to, as an invitation to subscribe (free trial, if there is a fee) or to join.

A square means that the space is private and closed.  It is not seen by anybody outside of the private group members, much less offered to outsiders.

D Intimate Four shapes govern the intimate area, which is never assigned hats: an oval (meaning friend), a diamond (meaning boss or co-worker), a heart (closest friends and family) and an apple (teacher or classmates) [Note: these are just examples: Louis can assign his own symbols in the Intimate space, however he chooses.]

Intimate areas will usually be one to one, but they can also be few to few.  For example, Louis could have an intimate group that includes his wife and parents.

In the next post, we’ll briefly look at Louis’s “Father” hat, and I’ll explain how all this “fractal’ing” of Louis Gray benefits him, his family and his readers.

The Hive will connect people as individual transmitters and receivers.  You can’t get more “micro” than that.

So the Hive will grow and grow and grow as people connect.  But, ironically, fractal growth comes from breaking.  The word itself means “to break.”  The Hive will break economies down into micro-economies.  The increased efficiency of these economies will become a part of the then healthier, ever larger economies.

It’s what Obama called for when he pledged during the campaign that they would regrow the economy from “the bottom up.”  The idea is that you strengthen the big by strengthening the individual building blocks.

In fact, you form the big by just putting the small together.

This is the “business model” of nature.  It’s obviously the one that works. 

Photo Credit

So before we build up the economy, we first need to break it down.  But how do we do that?

The key is social connection.  For most of our 200 thousand years on Earth, until the last .05% of it!, social networks and economic networks were one in the same. 

The Hive will be a social network AND an economic network – simultaneously!

For now, I’ll give one quick example.  Say that Debbie makes the best chili in the world.  She is unemployed and there are no jobs available.  So she approaches local cafes to see if any of them would be willing to buy her chili, which she can make in a friend’s legally sanctioned kitchen.

Would any of these cafes be willing to do it?  It’s doubtful.  They have their own cooks. 

But what if Debbie could say, “I have a social following and can bring you new customers”?  Then, of course, her chance of getting adopters goes way up.

Now say that Debbie is in the Hive.  As a person just starting out, she doesn’t have money to spend on advertising, but she has friends she believes will both buy and promote her chili for free, so she creates a video that shows her making her chili, talking about how her grandmother in Texas taught her and coyly saying sorry, but she can’t reveal the one secret ingredient that makes it so special.

Debbie uploads the video to the Hive’s open ad network, giving the locations of the two cafes where her chili can be found: one on the east side and the other on the west side.

Sure enough, the demand for “Debbie’s Chili” is strong and soon the cafes themselves start paying for the ads, so that the people who distribute them are now compensated by meal discounts and/or cash (more on this later).

Debbie’s skill at making chili earns money for her, increases revenue of the local farmers/merchants who supply her ingredients, increases the cafes’ clientele, which increases traffic to the surrounding businesses, which revitalizes the tax base, and so on. 

Notice how people with all kinds of talents get more work from a setup like this: from creatives like videographers, writers and actors (who will create the ads) to more hands-on farmers, manufacturers and merchants.

Now multiply Debbie’s experience by millions.  And millions.  People get compensated by doing what they love to do and are best at.  The benefits of that passion and skill flow up, strengthening everybody.

It’s getting the economy back to the individual level.  It’s making entrepreneurs out of Debbie and thousands of soup makers like her.  It’s giving her a channel to create her own viable business, instead of hoping against hope for a job on the production line at Campbells.

Too many corporations have grown way too big.  We need to break capitalism back down into smaller, stronger pieces.  Hey, let’s call it Fractal Capitalism.  Why not? 

Only the Internet can make this reality.  But the Web is incapable.  It’s not structured conducibly and it’s “culture of free” is hostile.  We need the “free plus compensated” Hive to create the economic micro channels that will make a new kind of capitalism possible the world over.

I grabbed my usual refreshment: reduced calorie Red Cane Cola, made fresh like at the soda fountains in the old Kress stores my dad managed – only ten times as expensive.  But hey, fond memories on top of great taste are always worth paying for, even when on a tight budget.  Plus, a second *free* treat awaited me:  my favorite oversized get-comfy-with-a-book chair by the farthest window.  I quickly sat down, thankful that it was available on this busy traffic day when people were trying to escape the heat.  (Not all of us up here in Oregon have air conditioning, and it’s been unusually hot.  Another good reason to go to Borders.) 

By the time the thick crème on top of my soda sinks halfway to the bottom of the clear plastic cup I’m inexplicably partial to over a solid white cup like at McDonalds, I am well into the book, now reading about fractals – a word I’ve never heard of before, but one I instantly understand.  Fractals are like God’s fingerprints.  They are the patterns of repeating geometric shapes that are found in all of Creation: from immense mountains, to endless coastlines, to tiny snowflakes.   

In nature, seeming chaos is really layered patterns of intricate symmetry that can actually cause heart-felt reverberation when gazed upon by us humans.  Wow.

So I’m reading about how Jackson Pollock, the famous American artist, was declaring himself one with nature and painting fractals years before they were even discovered in nature! – when I start noticing that my own heart has that tingly, vibrating “electric” feeling I get when I’m being led.

And then I turn the page and literally gasp at the graphic I see.  It looks like this:

It’s the Hive!

My eyes start welling so fast, I have to quickly move the page away, fearful that I’ll drip on a book I can’t afford to pay for until my next payday, weeks away.  (Getting paid only once a month really stinks, though in this economy, I’m just grateful to have a job and pray and pray that we can turn this recession around soon.)

OMG!  The Hive is a fractal!  Of course, it is.  I always knew it was, but I didn’t know the name of it.  I didn’t even know a name existed.  In my ignorant brain, I was calling it a “vortex.”  Though I knew that name wasn’t correct, it’s the only thing I could think of.

Seeing the Hive – something that I thought existed only in my head – suddenly staring back at me in black and white was an amazingly profound experience.  It’s why I started this blog just days later.  It’s why I want to share with you what it is.  Because the Universe is calling for it to become a reality.  And I’m going to need all the help I can get to make it so.

The weekend is almost here.  I’ll have time to explain much more soon.  Thanks for being patient!

It makes me heartsick to think about all the people who are losing their jobs, not just because of the failure of media, but because the failure of media fails advertising which fails to create demand which fails to pull us out of this nasty recession.

I know it seems hip to cheer the passing of “dead tree media.”  But when it comes to journalists and all those staff supporters losing their jobs, you might do well to remember that old line from John Donne’s poem: ”Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls.  It tolls for thee.”

Now say the word “hive.” If you linger on the “v” sound, it actually sounds like a live beehive.  You can hear the bees buzzing away, transmitting communication as they work together in community.  (Note the “commun” in each of these words, which is Latin for imparting commonality.)

 It so happens that the semaphore for “v” is this:

 Now put the invitation to transmit together with the live buzz, and what do we get?:

Cool, eh?

 It’s essential to fully understand this Hive icon, because it’s the living heart of everything the Hive will become. 

 As I’ve been saying, modern economies are dependent on the symbiotic alignment of four things: 

When it comes to our Hive, technology is embedded within it, just as the printing press has been embedded within “newspaper” for hundreds of years.  It’s technology that will allow each  human to uniquely transmit and receive within the overall Hive.  (Note: This doesn’t mean that our founding company is going to be a “tech company.”  It isn’t.  But we can talk about that later.)

But what are we going to transmit?

Three things:

 “Media” just means information/communication.  “Marketing” is less-in-your-face advertising.  And “entertainment” includes all kinds of arts and also all utilities, like GPS apps. 

See, the key to recreating the symbiosis that created and fueled our modern economy but that was broken by the Web is to recognize that  (1) because of the power of the Internet and its leveling of barriers, each human being is now a publisher, a reader/viewer/user, and a creator, (2) we naturally move between these three roles constantly online, and (3) each of these roles carries its own benefits and obligations.

Believe it or not, our simple Hive icon has the power to energize economies the world over, save journalism, advance culture, and even protect the environment.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  Next time (probably Thursday), I’ll introduce you to the Hive’s fractal, which is very exciting.

This is you in the Hive:  

On the Web, you’re like a tiny ship in an infinite ocean with maybe a compass and a few primitive maps, trying to find interesting spots to port.  It’s up to you to move from place to place to place at your own risk.  It requires us to let go of time and embrace hassle. 

In the Hive, everything that is good and relevant comes to you.  Articles, lessons, cartoons, videos, music, games, apps, photos…, and, of course, communications with friends, family, co-workers, social contacts and the public at large. 

Some objects will be pushed to you.  Others, you’ll pull in.  In either case, you are the Queen Bee, the center of the Hive.

But you are also a worker bee.  Because as you receive other creators’ digital objects, you will also be producing your own. 

In other words, every member makes “deposits” to the Hive, and every member receives deposits from the Hive.

Members can be anybody — from an individual animator to Pixar Studio, from a blogger to the New York Times, from an indie cartoonist to Universal Press Syndicate.  And everybody will be compensated, even though the vast majority of readers/viewers/users will enjoy objects free of charge.

More on creating channels tomorrow.