Those with Little Wealth Need Strong Social Capital

Each new social network introduces a new form of social capital—a concept rather than a fact.
Adults often accumulate more status more effectively in the physical world than online. Maintaining existing social capital tends to be more rewarding than chasing profits on new social networks, since it’s easier to earn interest on your established reserves.

Some companies have managed to create utility within a network but never succeeded in building genuine social capital—people come for the tool and stay for the social experience.

The total number of contributors on any network has an upper limit, and it is often a direct function of its proof of work. #ReadingNotes#

In essence, some networks reward those who accumulated large followings early on, gaining so much exposure that they continue to attract more followers than other users—regardless of whether they earned attention through post quality. One hypothesis for why social networks lose momentum at scale is that old money cannot be cleared out, and new players lose motivation to enter the game.

You’ve captured my curiosity, but now, beneath algorithmic feeds, you also have to earn my attention.