Re:The Age of the Grift Shift
by Aurornis on Friday September 22, 2023 @11:18AM
(#37613175)
> to make money it helps to insert yourself between people and something they may want or need. this is how pretty much every business works.
I disagree. They’re not the same thing. Most businesses will provide solutions to a need, or at least facilitate getting you to the solution for a fee.
The social media grifters are doing something else. They’re finding people with a need (or tricking people into thinking they have a need) and then trying to capture that person as a follower and, eventually, a revenue stream while delivering little real value in exchange.
The prototypical social media grifter like this has a lot to say and a lot of strongly worded opinions, but the end game usually involves something like hiding the “real” answers inside of a paid course or paid community. They spend years building a following on social media and then suddenly they’re selling a course for $1000 per seat. They only need a few hundred of their million followers to convert to make a decent amount of money. The content is usually so-so or recycled from other books and courses. Often purchasers are so embarrassed about having paid $1000 for it that they won’t complain online. If they do complain, they get dunked on by other social media users who were smart enough to see the grift, so they delete their complaints.
I’ve followed many people on Twitter who started out doing good work on indie projects or small startups, built up a following, and then pivoted into selling courses and educational material to their followers.
An alternative grift is to build up a following and then carefully walk the line on “offering the opportunity” to invest in their newest business. A handful of their star-struck followers will be knocking down their door to hand over their cash. You see it a lot with real estate and self storage business influencers.
I disagree. They’re not the same thing. Most businesses will provide solutions to a need, or at least facilitate getting you to the solution for a fee.
The social media grifters are doing something else. They’re finding people with a need (or tricking people into thinking they have a need) and then trying to capture that person as a follower and, eventually, a revenue stream while delivering little real value in exchange.
The prototypical social media grifter like this has a lot to say and a lot of strongly worded opinions, but the end game usually involves something like hiding the “real” answers inside of a paid course or paid community. They spend years building a following on social media and then suddenly they’re selling a course for $1000 per seat. They only need a few hundred of their million followers to convert to make a decent amount of money. The content is usually so-so or recycled from other books and courses. Often purchasers are so embarrassed about having paid $1000 for it that they won’t complain online. If they do complain, they get dunked on by other social media users who were smart enough to see the grift, so they delete their complaints.
I’ve followed many people on Twitter who started out doing good work on indie projects or small startups, built up a following, and then pivoted into selling courses and educational material to their followers.
An alternative grift is to build up a following and then carefully walk the line on “offering the opportunity” to invest in their newest business. A handful of their star-struck followers will be knocking down their door to hand over their cash. You see it a lot with real estate and self storage business influencers.