Haha, that's a great way to put it. You're right, the best moat is the relationship you build with your audience.

It really feels like we all have to become influencers these days.

Influencer is a different idea. I'm not exactly sure how to articulate it. Your audience trusts you and you know them. An influencer just says stuff they were paid to.

Influencers say things they were paid to, certainly. But the reason that someone is willing to pay them in the first place is because they have an audience that knows them and trusts them. Influencer advertising is generally a VERY targeted endeavor that hinges entirely on the fact that an influencer builds a relationship with their very specific + curated target demographic. It's right in the name. Hard to influence anyone if they don't care what you have to say.

Hiring influencers is not a moat. They have the power and can sell it to a competitor. It's better to directly possess the privilege to ask for the sale.

I was going to write a similar comment. Think of it like music; anyone can copy a song but creating a unique song is another story. To be a good artist you need to have a particular vision of the world and be able to express that. The same is true for good software.

Do you think this is a new trend in software, or it has always been there?