On January 26, 2011, a war began in Australia.
It was a MILK war.
One half of Australia’s supermarket duopoly cut the retail price of milk to $1 per litre. Shortly after, the other half of the duopoly followed suit.
It was a war in three ways:
1. The two halves of the duopoly were at war with each other, cutting prices dangerously low in an effort to steal business off of each other.
2. The duopoly was also at war with smaller retailers. The duopoly knew they were cutting their prices to a level so low the smaller retailers couldn’t compete.
3. The duopoly was at war with the farmers and primary producers of milk, who had no choice but to sell their milk to the supermarkets at an unprofitable price.
Content creators like you and me are the primary producers of the internet, just like farmers are the primary producers of milk.
Just like the supermarket duopoly underpaid farmers for their milk, we get underpaid by the duopoly of Google and Facebook for our content.
Just like the two halves of Australia’s supermarket duopoly were in a race to the bottom with milk prices, Google and Facebook are also in a race to the bottom with advertising prices.
Just like the supermarket duopoly cut prices to take business away from smaller retailers of milk, the internet duopoly cuts prices to take business away from smaller retailers of advertising.
In 2019, the milk price war ended, and the prices of milk in Australia went up.
This happened because there was a greater awareness among consumers that the low price they were paying was unfair on farmers and smaller retailers. Public sentiment began to turn against the duopoly.
In the coming years, the same thing will happen with the internet duopoly. Advertisers will begin to understand that the low prices they pay for advertising with Google and Facebook are only low because content creators get underpaid. They will also begin to understand the unfairness on smaller retailers of advertising.
But, this won’t happen on its own. It will only happen with the help of three kinds of people:
1. Educators, who will help advertisers to understand the unfairness of the business models of Google and Facebook, and help to put public pressure on them.
2. Regulators, who will take the opportunity of this public pressure to force the duopoly into fairer structures through policy.
3. Builders, who will set up new social media platforms and offer advertisers alternatives to the duopoly. Ones that do compensate content creators and keep a fair supply chain.
If you’re a content creator, the builders are the people you want to get connected with.
My job is to help builders through the process of setting up alternative social media platforms. Through my 10-step training system, The Online Economy, I can help you get connected with these people and their platforms.
Although educators and regulators are important, The Online Economy is not a place for them. It’s not a community in which we protest anti-competitive social media, and it’s not a community in which we discuss how to regulate and reform those companies.
Instead, it’s your ticket to a whole different paradigm for social media. One in which artists and creators already get paid appropriately. One that is already being built by clients of mine, as well as many more builders I don’t personally work with.
Whether I work with the builders or not, they are all looking for content creators like YOU.
The 10-steps of training inside The Online Economy will introduce you to the builders who you can partner with today.
If you’re not yet a member of The Online Economy, go to: https://theonlineeconomy.com