20251003 TT Intro Paper PHASE 1 v20

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Introduction

Breaking discipline right at the top!

This is primarily an idea paper. The idea, what it applies to, and why that matters. Here is the condensed version of what it’s about: This paper is about building audiences online grounding being interesting in “giving value” to drive your business or endeavor.

Why it matters is because of the concepts it presents for builders of these audience for “what to build”.

It is based in common understandings of storytelling. However, it highlights that this kind of audience building is a creative form in itself, and that each instance of this type of audience building is actually telling one story over time. When you combine that with the basis in giving value, the usual tactics of telling the most interesting story lead to a very desirable story and theme definition that supports making all the creative to reach and build the audience. On the media side, it presents new potential coherence to all the wonderful existing advice for creators already out there in building audience by proven successful practitioners. But it also shows that in many cases that it’s not just media creative that you can successfully employ, it’s also tech creative like software, data, and AI, and commercial creative like traditional goods and services.

So this paper matters because it presents the idea and then many potential ways it could be used by creators and builders to build and engage valuable audiences. So, “what to build” in a novel and generative way.

Therefore, the paper is split into three sections: What the idea applies to (Audience building of the type mentioned above), the idea itself, and how it can inform or be used for “What to Build”.

X Purpose: Why this section exists — what question or problem it addresses within the larger argument. Context: Where we’re coming from — how the prior section leads naturally to this one. Focus: What this section will do — what its main concept, case, or mechanism is. Preview: What the reader will come away understanding — the new clarity, relationship, or implication.

X Purpose: Context: Focus: Preview:

Part I – The Phenomenon

Part I - Introduction Purpose: Part 1 exists to answer the question of what is audience building on digital and how does it work based on giving value to drive a business or endeavor. Context: We’re coming from the Introduction that puts forward the promise of this kind of audience building based on giving value. Focus: What Part 1 does is break down audience building to its fundamental elements. This is done on the full set of claims I think are necessary to fully describe it. So, in later sections when higher order claims are made, Part 1 enables you to trace back the chain of reasoning that supports it all the way to fundamental elements or claims. This may seem pedantic, but the point is to not leave any big, interesting later claim to be ultimately unsubstantiated. Preview: The reader will come away understanding that it is a specific case of audience building because it is based in giving value as opposed to pure entertainment, it is defined by specific success criteria, and is best thought of as its own full creative form. This sets the stage for examining how to be successful in this creative form, which means to build audience such that it drives your business or endeavor on an ongoing basis.

Section 1 – Audience Building

This section just takes the intro from Part I since it is the only section in Part I. Purpose: Context: Focus: Preview:

1.1 Audience Building from the Creator’s Perspective

Sub-Section Claim: The characterization of this type of audience building (audience building on digital based on giving value in order to drive a business or endeavor) by presenting it and the challenges of doing it from the creator’s perspective. Reason: The whole point of the idea (this is an idea paper about applying story to this type of audience building) is to enable the creator to engage in the effort of making the creative necessary to build the audience such that they successfully achieve their objectives, or reason for building the audience in the first place. Link: This connects to the paper intro and the sub-section intro (this is the first body subsection I’m doing here, so whatever is prior to it are introductions) because this is where we should begin: from the creator’s perspective because that is who we are writing this to help. It connects to or sets up the next subsection which will present the essential conceptual breakdown of this phenomenon (this type of audience building), which is surprisingly multi-faceted and this provides the right context to make it all cohere/coherent. Sub-Section Summary: This anchors us in the perspective of who we’re writing this for.

Building an audience of this type presupposes production and publishing of a lot of creative. Claim: It is the creative itself that the viewers directly connect with. Reason: For the creator the fundamental act of audience building is in the making of creative in sufficient quantity/scale to build the audience. Link: This sets us up to consider the what production looks like from the perspective of the creator.
Summary: In building audience, what that means for the creator is production of creative, and some level of scale is necessary.

I am going to use the case of a new creator to demonstrate the challenge of audience building. Claim: This particular case presents the challenge from the perspective of the creator and even though it’s just a particular case it will be representative for this purpose. Reason: It is the audience builder who I am writing this for and defining the challenge from their perspective is the clearest way to do it. Link: This leads to the next sections because it gives the best context to present the concepts(?) that make up the challenge. Summary: Frame the explanation of the challenge from the perspective of who is the one that faces it.

The first challenge a new audience builder of this type faces is that they are automatically signing up for producing creative consistently, or in volume. Claim: This is true because the only reason this effort ends up making sense is that it materially drive the business, and the creative is the means by which the creator actually reaches the potential viewers. Reason: Given the way the platform algorithms favor fresh creative, the creator to consistently reach audience at any reasonable scale, you have to publish creative consistently – often daily. Link: This leads to the next question of results, which depend on publishing the creative. Summary: To connect with audience at scale requires a commensurate volume of published creative for the audience to actually engage with, and the creator must do this roughly from the start, which presents a big challenge.

However, by default your creative generates limited or no results, which are hard and not automatic to achieve. Claim: That means that just making and publishing creative in the harsh competitive environment for online attention doesn’t get a large audience. Reason: That matters because it is only through making demonstrably interesting creative that you reach audience, and that is hard and in no way automatically happens. Link: This sets up the next point of closing the default mismatch of effort and results. Summary: The normal state of creative is that they don’t achieve reach, which is presents a big challenge.

This produces a combined challenge that highlights a big temporal component. Claim: The creator starts committed to a ramped up or high effort but also with limited or no results yet. The creator faces this emergent challenge of bringing those in to some acceptable balance over time. Reason: As time goes you are expending high levels of effort which is likely not sustainable indefinitely without achieving commensurate results. Link: This sets up the next point that the creator is not blind to the needed levels of effort and results necessary. Summary: The mismatch between the natural starting case for effort and results leads to a time challenge in making it work.

The effort and results needed are not in the end mysterious – the creator can understand both and the necessary ROI on the audience building effort that makes it worthwhile to perform. Claim: The creator understand the resources they have available for the effort of making and publishing creative, in the simple case of a new creator, mostly time, and the results necessary for it to be worthwhile, which is generally going to be in some generation of demand for the creator’s endeavor. Reason: For the native creator, that may just be more demand for the creators creative itself. For the creator that already sells goods or services, it would be enough incremental sales to make the effort worthwhile or to drive the business.
Link: This gives the final context to set up the next point of the ultimate challenge for the creator on WTB. Summary: The ROI conditions the creator faces are not mysterious to the creator, even a new one, and they should have a good sense of the amount of effort that is realistic to produce at least some needed amount of results to make the effort worthwhile.

Now we can better understand the core challenge from the creator’s perspective: what creative do I make and how can I do it to achieve the needed results within the real constraints I face? Claim: To achieve what the creator needs to achieve they have to achieve it through the creative that they produce. Reason: It sets up the real fundamental challenge for the creator that everything depends on: what do I make and how so that I’m successful. Link: This synthesizes the points made in this subsection and sets up the next subsection where we start to look at the dynamics(?) of audience building, which are layered and multifaceted, in preparation for how and why the main idea of the paper applies to it and works. Summary: The ultimate challenge for the creator is what to build and how given these constraints.

1.2 Audience Building – The General Case

[This section needs a sound intro. Maybe back into it from the information below? I also have thoughts on what I want to say here and I worry I am post Phase 2. No, I should try and put that in. It is the complement to the prior section. That was the “practical(?)” characterization. This is the full conceptual breakdown so we can understand what this is and what we’re working with so we can … gain ability to employ it and perform it at a high level for any creator?]

[This builds up from fundamental premises (I mean that different from how I use premise at the end of the subsection) to a full conceptual definition or characterization of the general case of audience building online. This is the prep to set us up to look at the specific case of audience building that we are interested in (based on “giving value”) in the next subsection. I think it us important or useful to look at it this way first to understand it is a type of audience building.]

Start with the general case of audience building. It is acquiring attention for the opportunity of influence. Claim: The general case of audience building at the most fundamental conceptual level and it is that it is based in acquiring attention which realized provides the opportunity for influence. Reason: In this conceptual construction of audience building, this is the foundation or core first principle claim that everything else can be build on. For what it’s worth, I would say this traces back to Goldhaber’s 1997(?) paper on the attention economy. I have not validated that though. But it is often perceived that way, I think. Link: This links from the prior subsection on audience building from the creator’s perspective as a practical way to see the endeavor and this is the first building block of the more conceptual definition of it. Summary: The base definition (general case) of audience building is acquiring attention and the opportunity for subsequent influence.

You deploy creative to acquire that direct attention. Claim: To acquire attention online, you make and then publish creative, which is what those that give you attention actually connect with. Reason: This matters because it establishes how attention is acquired at a first principle level – it is through the vehicle of creative you make and then publish. Link: This builds on the first general case claim and sets up the next point of refinement on creative. Summary: Attention is explicitly acquired – the direct connection with the viewer/reader – through or by published digital creative.

Generally, this creative is deployed or published on the major social media platforms. Claim: Primarily you publish your creative on the major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn, for example, and video creative is the primary form. Reason: This is where the mass of attention is already aggregated for users to publish and reach. Video, particularly short form video, has been the most engaging kind of content/creative (is most inherently interesting) and has generally been promoted by the platforms. Link: This refines the last point with specifics in the current context of digital and sets up the next point on how the platforms effect distribution. Summary: You generally deploy your creative to the major social media platforms where the attention is aggregated.

The creative is distributed based on demonstrated interest as mediated by the platform algorithms. Claim: When you publish creative to the platforms, their algorithms mediate distribution. Reason: This matters because the algorithms have steadily evolved to evaluate demonstrated interest in specific creative and distributing that which achieves it. TikTok kicked this to a new level and all the platforms have followed, because what the platforms want is to keep you on them, and at its core, they will stay if the content proves interesting moment-to-moment. They do this by sampling creative with a viewers and if it proved interesting they continue to broaden distribution. Link: This builds on the last point that you publish to the major social platforms and sets up the first sort of summary or main point in this subsection. Summary: The platform algorithms mediate distribution and do it on the basis of demonstrated interest.

Therefore, the creative itself is the product – interesting creative in exchange for attention. Therefore, demand generation for the creative itself is the primary objective. Claim: For this general case, the creative itself is the product. Reason: This matters because we can see the whole point in the general case of audience building is to create interest in your creative itself – to generate demand for your creative so you both acquire attention, but also set yourself up to hold it over time with further creative you publish. Link: This builds on the consolidated set of prior points to establish the general point of the general case and sets up now concepts about general online audience building that follow. Summary: A general point of the general case is that your creative itself is the product and your aim is to generate ongoing demand for it to hold attention over time as you publish.

Creative production to achieve this general type of audience building can be thought of as its own creative form. Claim: This general case of audience building can be thought of as its own creative form. It’s based on posts and the non-deterministic effect of post distribution via the algorithms (meaning you don’t know how interesting a post is until potential viewers react to it). Because of that, this form is different in that there is little to no assumed inherent continuity from post to post by the audience/viewers. [ChatGPT – so, this packs a lot. Creative form, built of posts, low presumption of continuity. Perhaps I should expand on this, but I’m trying to not over burden this subsection. But, maybe I should – feel free to let me know if this should be broken out into further paragraphs.] Reason: This matters because while I don’t think this will be generally contested it’s also not how audience building is generally talked about. So, even though I’m not inventing new stuff, it’s this application that is perhaps new and something useful I’m doing in pointing out. Link: This helps conceptually consolidate what we’ve built to so far in this subsection under a coherent concept, which is classic and established, and sets up the next point of why this might be useful. Summary: This general case of online audience building can be looked at as a distinct creative form.

Looking at this as a creative form gives us the opportunity to inherit useful understanding of creative forms with story, unity, and their differing adaptations to other historical forms. Claim: We can perhaps inherit understandings of creative forms such as they don’t require storytelling, but raise to their highest level of effectiveness when employing it, and the importance of understanding the unity in the form to … unify around (chatgpt – save me from that poor wording!). Reason: This matters because the point of examining or studying a creative form is to understand how to get the most out of it (aging, chatgpt – I know that could be said much better), and historical examples of effective storytelling, unity, etc. from form to form is instructive that we can certainly look to do that here – even if just at a basic level. Link: This pick up on the last point by looking at what it may get us to look at this as a creative form and sets up the following points that look to just the basics of how we might employ it to this case. Summary: There are potential benefits to looking at digital audience building as its own creative form for example the use of applying concepts like storytelling and unity and that you need to adapt them to a new form.

Demonstrated interest is realized attention, or views, and can only be finally realized by the choice of the viewer. It requires either the intent of the viewer to find the creative, but mostly of the algorithm to distribute it to the viewer’s feed. Claim: Demonstrated interest is ultimately defined by the viewer, not the creator. Reason: This matters to bring up again (it was established earlier) because it is absolutely fundamental and the key to letting as apply key concepts like storytelling and unity, etc. to this creative form. Link: This sets up the next point of how the potential viewer chooses to give attention in the context of a social feed. Summary:

The working definition of interest as choice can be given by the sense of the potential viewer of, “What’s that about?”, and “Do I care?” If yes, then they may choose to watch and you have the direct connection of their attention. Claim: A general working definition of the mechanics of how viewers choose whether to watch a piece of creative presented to them in a feed is that they almost instantly form a sense of “what’s that about?” and “do I care?” Reason: This matters because this is the mechanics of how attention is given and the creator actually directly reaches a viewer. If the viewer forms a sense that they effectively sense yes to both, then they may choose to watch or engage the creative. Link: This fills in the last point with a working model of how interest is demonstrated and sets up the next point of how it relates to holding interest over time to enable an audience. Summary: A sense of “What’s that about?” and “Do I care?” provide a good working understanding of how potential viewers decide how to give their attention online.

A stable or consistent “What’s that about?” over time is a premise, and is the basis for longer term demand generation, or audience. Therefore, this general kind of audience building is premise based, or driven. Claim: To generate demand for the creative itself over time, the potential audience member needs a stable sense of “what’s that about” and “do I care”.
Reason: This matters because this is necessary to hold attention in this creative form over longer periods of time, which is the inherent point of building an audience. Link: This builds on the last point of how the mechanics of interest work to the next point that this in the micro (a post) also works at the macro (overall premise). Summary: Because of the inherent time window of holding attention over time that building an audience entails, the criteria for interest of individual posts (pieces of creative) also become the premise for all creative.

Another way to say this is that for audience over time, you need a consistent premise that is legible (“What’s that about?”) and that people care enough about to view/watch. Claim: A consistent premise is a (the?) fundamental necessity for building online audience in the general case. Reason: The matters because the premise is the fundamental element or concept in defining an audience building effort as it lets the audience determine “what’s that about” and “do I care?”. It sets the viewers expectations for whether they might be interested enough to give the overall effort their attention. If so, they may choose or are a strong candidate to be a potential audience member for the creator’s endeavor (audience building effort). Link: This culminates this subsection in that the general audience building effort can be thought of as its own creative form and is premise based. This sets up the next subsection to build on this base definition or characterization of the general audience building effort to look at the case we are interested in – basing the premise on providing the audience some kind of value (often known as “giving value”) rather than just pure entertainment. Summary: A consistent or stable premise is the basis of this form of general audience building.

1.3 Audience Building – Based on Giving Value for Effect

By this kind of audience building we mean everything from the prior section but applied to basing the premise in giving value in the effort to be interesting and using any influence generated to drive a business or endeavor. Claim: The case of building an online audience by “giving value” is a particular case of the general case we introduced in the last subsection. Reason: This matters because this is the type of audience building effort I’m interested in and the main idea (presented in the next section) applies to. It helps to understand this is a type of audience building and therefore shares the bones (chatgpt - um, better way to say that I know) of the general case of audience building. It is I think useful to know that this isn’t some isolated case that is completely unique. But we inherit what we went over or established in the last section like creative form, mechanism of interest, centrality of premise, etc. Link: This pick up and inherits everything established in the last subsection and sets us up to explore this particular case. Summary: We inherit everything from the prior subsection on audience building and now will look at the particular case of “giving value”.

Attention is this type of audience building is grounded in giving value to be interesting. Claim: This type of audience building as I refer to it is based in or distinguished by basing being interesting (established as fundamental in the general case in the prior subsection) in providing some kind of value for the audience. The usual off hand way people refer to it is “giving value”. Reason: This matters because we are making a particular distinction in how we look to be interesting in our creative and audience building effort. Link: This sets goes with the next point which is another facet of this type of audience building that almost always (always?) goes hand in hand with those that “give value”. Summary: This type of audience building bases being interesting in “giving value”. So, we go from more abstract (be interesting to acquire attention) to more specific (be interesting based on “giving value”).

Influence is now tapped to drive a business or endeavor. Claim: This type of audience building also is defined or characterized by the objective of the creator to achieve the results of driving a business or endeavor. This might be just to build audience as for a new native creator, or also to enable driving sales of some good or service for an incumbent organization, for example. Reason: This matters because there is motivate purpose or intent for building this kind of audience. The expectations are that there are outcomes that the audience building should lead to achieving. It’s a second fundamental defining condition or characteristic of the type. Link: This adds an additional defining condition to the last point and we will add another in the next point. Summary: This type of audience building uses the opportunity for influence (established in the general case) to drive a business or endeavor. So, this case enables us to go from more abstract (influence) to more specific (to drive a business or endeavor).

Here, premise is based in the “value”. Claim: Just as the basis for interest of a piece of creative will be in “giving value” (the last point) so to will the premise be based in “giving value”. Reason: This matters because if you , know the value you will be sharing then this will define the domain or nature of your premise. Link: This adds another fundamental definitional characteristic to this type of audience building and sets us up to see something interesting about a premise based in “giving value”. Summary: In this case the defining fundamental characteristic for audience building online will be based in the value the creator will share.

Meaning begins to take shape as the basis of the interest of the premise based on “giving value”. Claim: The value based case almost inherently produces a premise based in meaning, or a meaning based premise. Just small-m meaning, not big-M Meaning. Reason: This matters because this will open up insight or set the stage or be useful when it comes to the main idea of the paper (next section) and the creator looking at what (creative) to build (third section). Link: I sort of gave that away in the prior sentence for the big case, but this primes me to immediately follow with particularly how this leads to or sets up meaning in the premise. Summary: Basing interest in providing value sets up a meaning based premise for the audience building endeavor.

The premise needs to be responsive to: “What’s that about?”. That is, it needs to be comprehensible or legible to the audience member / viewer. Claim: “What’s this about” as a premise needs to be needs to be legible to the potential audience member / viewer. Reason: This matters just to point out the premise can’t be unclear or incomprehensible to the potential audience member / viewer. Link: This builds on the last point by providing the first element and sets us up to look at the next two. Summary: Legibility of the premise in terms of “what’s it about” is necessary (important?).

The premise also needs to be response to “Do I Care?”. The main and most common determinants for that are the relevance and consequence of the premise for the viewer. Claim: With a basis in giving value, “do I care?” will be determined by or based in how relevant to the viewer the value based premise is and how consequential the value based premise is for the potential audience member. Reason: This matters because this presents two practical dimensions that give a good sense of whether someone will care about the premise: is it relevant to them … does it impact them, and is it of consequence? Link: This adds to the last point and sets us up to see how these three criteria are roughly equivalent to saying how meaningful something is (as a premise). Summary: Relevance and consequence provide good working handles for insight into whether someone will care about the premise.

We can establish that meaning is coupled with interest for the premise. If a premise scores highly on meaning for the viewer, we can see it likewise scores highly for potential interest to the viewer. Claim: Together, legibility, relevance, and consequence are a sound basis for small-m meaning from the potential audience member’s perspective. If “what it’s about?” and “do I care?” are a basis for interest, we just established that it is also a basis for meaning. Reason: This matters because meaning from the potential audience member’s / viewer’s perspective will be useful to work with a value based premise in WTB. This might not seem obviously useful now, but I am explicitly making the connection now so we’ve established it to use later. Link: This consolidates(?) the prior few points and sets us up to see interest at the premise level as meaning from the audience’s perspective. Summary: For a “giving value” based premise, meaning from the audience’s perspective is coupled with what they will find interesting.

If the premise is interesting and based in the value, then also based on the value it is related to the business or endeavor (of the creator). This is the basis for the acquired influence being able to generate demand for the business or endeavor. Together, legibility, relevance, and consequence are a sound basis for small-m meaning to the viewer. Claim: Basing the premise in value provides the key link between the basis of interest and the creator’s business or endeavor they want to drive. Reason: This matters because you can be interesting, or rather your creative can be interesting, but the basis of interest doesn’t by definition have to be related to your business or endeavor. Anchoring the basis of interest in the value you have to share to your business or endeavor. Link: This sets up the next point which is how this relates to the combined goals of the creator in this type of audience building. Summary: Value links the basis of interest also to the creator’s business or endeavor.

The “giving value” based attention and it’s related subsequent influence stands to generate demand for the creative itself and for the business or endeavor. Claim: “giving value” as the basis for interest in the premise is the basis for both overall interest and the influence the creator wants in this type of audience building to drive their business or endeavor. Reason: This matters because value provides the basis to solve simultaneously two specific objectives – be interesting but also enable the influence that follows that attention to specifically drive the creator’s business or endeavor. Link: This ties together prior points to see value as the key to a multiple result solve and sets up the next point of how the influence in this kind of audience building actually drives a business or endeavor. Summary: “giving value” is the key to creating interest for the creative itself such that you can also drive your business or endeavor through any influence that attention gives you.

The mechanism for demand generation for the creator’s business or endeavor is that the creator is positioned for the audience to like know and trust them by treating a premise meaningful to them and therefore have the opportunity to generate awareness, consideration, and preference for the creator’s business or endeavor. Claim: The way the influence enables driving the creators business or endeavor is through the creator having the audience like, know, and trust them. The way this ends up doing it is by driving awareness, consideration, and preference for your business or endeavor. If the premise is meaningful to the audience and the creator speaks to or treats this meaningful premise, then this provides the basis for the audience to be well disposed to the creator and his business or endeavor thus have the ability to drive awareness, consideration, and preference for it. These are actually the traditional top of funnel or brand marketing objectives. Reason: This matters because it establishes exactly how the built audience ends up being able to drive a business or endeavor. Link: This completes or continues a prior point on how value enables the influence on a value based premise actually “drives” a business or endeavor. This also sets up a later point in this subsection (not immediately following) that the premise of this kind of audience building is not advertising creative. So, this point shows how it drives a business or endeavor if not via direct advertising. Summary: The way in which this kind of audience building drives a business or endeavor is through generating awareness, consideration, and preference.

1.4 Giving Value

This subsection distinguishes “giving value” as a major/fundamental basis for making interesting creative. Claim: It is the other main kind of creative other than pure entertainment, it adds the ability to be interesting and thus expands the pool of people/orgs that can do it, and list the obvious ones that have value to share and are candidates for being able to building and audience of this type. Reason: It matters because it makes sure people don’t thing “giving value” is a plaything – it is fundamental and a real basis for making interesting creative and the pool of those that can do it when you look at it this way is enormous (better word? Maybe this one is fine – it’s just that it’s literally and business or org existing, plus many of the digital new native creators). Ah! ChatGPT – am I simply saying now that we have taken some effort to define this kind of audience building, look how it fits in audience building writ large and then who can do it and why and how many are out there? This matters because when you look at it that way it’s just a so many people and orgs. It’s like once you see it it’s like “oh – that’s like the whole business side of the economy or population from the largest to the smallest (solopreneurs), profit to non-profit, business to public orgs. Link: This takes the definition of the phenomenon of this kind of audience building and looks at the extent or potential of it being exercised out there if it’s worthwhile to them, and sets up the next subsection on the success criteria to evaluate what the necessary success is. Summary: “Giving value” is the other major type of creative along with pure-entertainment, and it both enables more people to make interesting creative, which is hard, and many, many people and orgs know something of value they can share and can contemplated doing this.

This kind of effort is based on giving value, not on pure entertainment. That’s the major distinction. In practice, almost all audience-building efforts fall into one of two camps: entertainment or value. Claim: Giving value is a distinct mode of going to market for attention from going to market for attention based on being interesting with pure entertainment. Practically speaking, almost all audience building efforts are one or the other. For our purposes that is likely a safe assumption to make. Reason: This matters because per the specific case in the last subsection, there are additional, different dynamics at play in the “giving value” case, and (ChatGPT I’m fumbling here – this point seems important but its so short to say) it is useful to see it is distinct from pure entertainment creative. Link: The marshals the information in the last section to make a comparison or distinction, and Summary: Giving value as a basis for going to market for attention is distinct from pure entertainment.

Giving value adds an additional dimension of interest for making interesting creative, and this opens access to being able to make sufficiently interesting creative. Pure entertainment is harder to make interesting. Claim: Giving value adds an additional dimension of interest for making interesting creative, opening access to those that can do it sufficiently to get reach. Pure entertainment creative is harder to make sufficiently interesting to get reach. Reason: This matters because of how it opens access to audience building. Pure entertainment creative requires certain levels of talent that is relatively scarce. Link: This adds a point to the last point made, which follows it. It sets up the “who wants to do this” point coming up in a subsection below. Summary: More people can successfully make “giving value” creative than can “pure entertainment” creative.

Who can do make interesting creative based on giving value? Anyone with value to share. Claim: Anyone with some kind of value to share has the potential to make interesting creative based on sharing that value – hence the term “giving value”. This is an extensive set of people and organizations, such as many native creators (who work from giving value), but also any existing business or org who by definition have something they know or understand that is valuable to others, like: entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, small and medium businesses, incumbents, non-profits, charities, and public organizations. Reason: The reason this matters is because of the scope or size of people and organizations this covers. All are candidates and have the potential to build an audience if the costs and returns make sense for them. Link: This builds on the last point that not only does having value to give expand the ability of pool of those that can make interesting creative, there are lots of people and organizations out there who have value that they know and could share in this way. This final point here sets up a summary point of all of this in this subsection Summary: There are many people and organizations that understand something of value that they could share with an audience and could consider building their own audience if the costs and benefits made sense for them.

[Subsection Summary] As mentioned in the introduction summary sentence for this subsection, “Giving value” is the other major type of creative along with pure-entertainment, and it both enables more people to make interesting creative, which is hard, and many, many people and orgs know something of value they can share and can contemplated doing this. Claim: With this subsection establishing the place and scope of this audience building based on giving value and who and how many could possibly do it, this sets up the next subsection on what success at it means/requires. Reason: This subsection matters because it established the potential scope and scale of audience building based on “giving value” both in general and in specifically who that can do it, and it is larger. Establishing it’s potential as large, now we can ask, what does it take for someone to be successful so that they might do it? Link: This is the summary to this subsection and sets up the next subsection on what success means to see why someone would do it and technically what that means. Summary: In summary to this subsection, given the possible scope and scale of this kind of audience building based on who could viably do it, this sets us up to look at what success looks like so anyone could tell who should.

1.5 Success Requirements

[Subsection Introduction] Success in this type of audience building endeavor can be reduced to three technical requirement. They are fundamental and will be useful in evaluating the main idea of the paper.] Claim: This subsection presents a tight, comprehensive, and complete definition of success of audience building based on giving value. Reason: This matters because it highlights that there is more than one fundamental criteria and together they help us evaluate the use of the main idea of the paper presented in Section 2. Link: This naturally follows the point of the last subsection, which showed the extent of this kind of audience building and who as the potential to do it. And sets us up to revisit that in the next subsection on not just who can do it, but who would want to. Summary: There is a tight, comprehensive, and fundamental three part criterion of success for audience building based on giving value.

There are other ways to say this, but I use the concept/term of demand generation to put the first two criteria in the same terms. Claim: There are other terms that could be used here, but I am going to use the general concept of demand generation. Demand generation is a term generally used with marketing, but it means creating awareness or interest in something ultimately driving future consumption of it. The historical marketing aspect will fit here, but also abstracting it to a general case lets us use it for the first criteria too, where it fits well too. Reason: This puts the first two criteria on the same basis to help see how they are two different results of the same type, which might not be clear without using the common basis. Link: This point sets up important and maybe novel context for the first two criteria presented next. Summary: Demand generation is the common basis for the success criteria I will use here and it helps to see two parts of the definition put on similar terms.

The first criteria is to generate demand for the creative itself. Claim: The first criteria is to generate demand for the creative itself, and this echoes the earlier point (section 1.2) that in audience building generally, the creative is itself the product. That’s the abstracted way to say it. The common way to say it is that the creative needs to be interesting in and of itself so that viewers want to see more in the future. Demand generation for more creative like this in the future is clearly a clean way to say that too. So, you need to create creative so good that it creates demand for more of it! Reason: This matters because to build audience you need enough/many viewers to like what they see so much so that they would want to see more in the future. So, creative sufficiently interesting in that way. Link: This is the first of three points of the success criteria. Summary: The first criteria is to generate demand for the creative itself.

The second criteria is to generate demand for the business or endeavor. Claim: The general purpose of this kind of audience building as presented earlier (section 1.3) is to generate demand for the creator’s business or endeavor. It they sell a good or service for example, then it should generate demand for that. If they are a native creator building audience with no products or services yet for example, then it would be demand for more creative itself based on “giving value”. Reason: Audience building based on giving value is generally done to drive the business or endeavor. This criteria captures that because without it you could say any audience would be sufficient success whether it drove the business or endeavor or not. Link: This is the second of three points of the success criteria. Summary: The second criteria is to generate demand for the business or endeavor.

The third is to sustain both of the first two criteria over an indefinite window of time. Claim: Generally in this kind of audience building you if you achieve the success of the first two criteria you want to sustain it on an ongoing basis or as long as you can. Therefore, to state that generally, you want to sustain the first two criteria over an indefinite window of time. For instance, you wouldn’t want to have baked in to your approach that you automatically drop people from your audience by the way you approach it, like if they made a purchase, then they leave. Reason: This matters because if you go through the effort of building an audience you want to look at it as an asset that generated benefit continually as long as you can sustain it, and in the ideal that is in perpetuity. Of course nothing goes on forever, but in this case you don’t start the effort with a plan to have it end – only when it doesn’t make sense to maintain it or it is no longer worthwhile. Link: This is the third of three points of the success criteria. Summary: The third criterion is to maintain the first two criteria over an indefinite window of time.

These criteria are challenging in and of themselves, but additionally that they all must be achieved presents a challenge of its own. Claim: Achieving all three criteria simultaneously is an additional real challenge all in its own. Reason: This matters because you can see that all three criteria could easily be at cross purposes. For instance, you could have really interesting creative based on spectacle that is unrelated to your business or endeavor and therefore fails the second success criteria. A simultaneous solution to all three is an additional challenge in and of itself. Link: This makes an emergent point about the prior three success criteria points and is the last point of the subsection. Summary: An additional challenge is that you need to achieve all three simultaneously, and when you try to optimize them independently they can be at cross purposes with each other.

1.6 Contrast with Pure Entertainment and Adverts

The success criteria give us a good way to look at two prior claims (chatgpt did I make the advertising point yet?!?!). Claim: The success criteria give us a good way to look back at two prior claims (chatgpt did I make the advertising point yet?!?!). Reason: This matters because the success criteria now give us a technical means to make two key points that will also be seen in Section 2. Link: This builds on the prior subsection of the success criteria and sets up the next two points on something we can use the success criteria to see now. Summary: The success criteria provide a useful way to contrast this kind of audience building with two other related/similar, but importantly different kinds: Pure entertainment and advertising.

Building audience based on “giving value” is different from doing it based on pure entertainment creative. Pure entertainment meets the first criteria but not the second, and is highly challenging for the third. Claim: Pure entertainment is different as mentioned before – it takes more talent and is harder to sustain over time and if isn’t focused on the second success criteria. It is entirely focused on the first criterion. Reason: This matters because it further makes the distinction between pure entertainment based creative and “giving value” based creative, but this time we can make good use of the reasoning we have done about it as it build to the technical success criteria. We’re building concepts and this is one of the fruits. Link: This follows the point on something the success criteria helps us see and sets up the next point of looking at advertising creative in the same way. Summary: Building audience based on “giving value” is different from doing it based on pure entertainment creative.

Advertising does not generate demand for the creative itself and it’s easy to reason as to how that does not enable audience building. Technically, advertising generates demand for a good or a service. Claim: Advertising is optimizing on the second success criteria, but not the first, which is fundamental to building audience. Advertising seeks to generate demand for a good or service, but the creative itself here is the product in audience building and per the first criteria it needs to generate demand for itself. Since the demand generation for goods and services tends to be terminal, this is also is challenged to meet the third criteria. Reason: This matters to make the distinction between “giving value” based creative for audience building and advertising creative using the joint success criteria we developed. Link: This sets up the next point which follows up on this point as to how this kind of audience building generates demand. Summary: Advertising is different that “giving value” based audience building because it is focused on the second success criteria but not the first.

That this kind of creative is not advertising because of how it meets the second criteria but not the first helps us see that the way it generates demand for a business or endeavor is not through direct advertising but more traditional top of funnel focus of generating awareness, consideration, and preference. Claim: The way this kind of audience building generates demand for a business or endeavor can be achieved through generating awareness, consideration, and preference, which enables future advertising among other things, but can meet both the first and second success criteria (third too). Reason: This matters because this helps us see why the claim in section 1.3 on the way this kind of audience building generates demand for the second success criteria is not by direct advertising, but by generating awareness, consideration, and preference. This is a potential at this point, but we will see in section 3 how this implements or can be executed very naturally. Link: This follows up on the last point and completes the subsection. Summary: We can see through the technical success criteria we developed why it is through generating top of funnel awareness, consideration, and preference that we look to drive a business or endeavor (success criteria 2) and not through making advertising creative.

1.7 Who Wants to Do This?

Who wants to do this – to build this kind of audience? Anyone who can do it and achieve success criteria such that it produces more than it costs such that it is worthwhile for the creator (business or endeavor) as presented in subsection 1.2 when framing it in terms of ROI. So, who wants to do this is anyone who can and for who doing so would be worthwhile or worth it. Claim: Who would want to do this is anyone who can has the ability to make this kind of creative (section 1.4) and can also achieve the three success criteria (section 1.5) such that they can achieve an ROI (section 1.2) that makes the entire effort or endeavor worthwhile. Remember, those that can are a broad set including many native creators, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses, large incumbents, non-profits, charities, public organizations, etc. Reason: This matters because we again see how the concepts and claims and reasoning we have developed in this section give us an ability to make much more clearly supported claims on questions like this, where we called on three prior criteria. Link: This follows the last point and ends the subsection. Summary: Who wants to do this is anyone who can that if they did it successfully it would be worthwhile to them.

1.8 Organic Creative

It is important to call out that, especially in line with success criteria #1 (section 1.5) and the prior claim that the product in audience building is the creative itself (section 1.2) that we are by definition talking about organic creative or creative that can succeed organically. Claim: We are by definition talking about organic creative, which is creative that is inherently interesting such that an uncapped algorithm would distribute it without boosting based on its inherent interest. By the way, creative that is proven organically successful can be used by advertising teams to repurpose on creative or creative concepts that are proven inherently interesting! Reason: This matters because this is a large category of creative and defines that which is good enough to earn distribution on its own because it is interesting enough – good enough – to do so. This is inline with success criteria #1 (section 1.5) and just equates it with its common understanding that that is creative that must be successful organically. Link: This builds on a few prior points as indicated and is the last claim or point made in this subsection. Summary: Audience building creative inherently has to be creative that can be organically successful.

1.9 Outro

[Summary section – need to produce and it should satisfy or fulfill or resolve whatever was stated in the section intro.]

Part II – The Core Idea

Part II - Introduction Purpose: Part II exists to address the conceptual question of the nature of achieving success at audience building based on giving value. Context: Part 2 follows Part 1, which thoroughly defines the phenomenon of audience building in general and based on giving value in particular sufficiently so we can look into the nature of being successful at it. Focus: What this section does is apply storytelling to this aim. Okay, this matters to me greatly to say this: I hold no depth of study or expertise in this area. There are so many people with such a deep and nuanced understanding of this, and this includes not only people that understanding and find it compelling as so study it, but many, many people who can do it – who can tell stories in many forms, but primarily based in writing and do it deeply well. I am not that person. So why am I bothering to speak on this? Because what I don’t see done is storytelling applied in this sense – to the whole effort. So looking at the definition of the whole audience building effort in terms of a story. This has certainly been done for other things, but not this thing. Part of that I think is that this is so new that calling it a creative form would be presumptions. But once you do, applying story telling at the level of the instance of this form is obvious. So much so that even someone like me can do it and follow the obvious through lines. However, the basis in giving value requires newly looking at how to apply storytelling most productively in this case. Preview: What the reader will come away understanding is that simply the straight forward application of story telling in this form based on giving value … well first that that is the core of the approach to achieve success, and that because this is based on giving value that there is a maximally interesting theme you can derive from the value which you already know, and that that has desirable implications, and the form of the theme is also consistent because of the path dependence on value, and that form itself has very desirable characteristics for creators and builders in building audience for effect.

Section 2 – The Idea - One Story, Optimized

Section 2 – Introduction. Purpose: This section exists to address the problem or challenge of how to employ storytelling to achieve your maximum potential for success in this kind of audience building. Context: We’re coming from Part I and the introduction to Part II. Part I defined the phenomenon of this kind of audience building, examined it and characterized it fundamentally so we are prepared here to examine the nature of being successful at it. Focus: What this section will do is present the core idea of what I call label Theme Theory. The mechanism is simply to apply story telling to this creative form with its success criterial and how it can be applied to achieve success. Again, I just want to call out and wave a big flag here that I don’t think I am breaking new ground here in the mechanism. It is more just that storytelling applies in a completely known way, but in a way that has not been recognized I think it can best be said because I think it’s best to see this type of audience building as its own creative form and that isn’t the common understanding. Once you do, and have defined it like we did in Part I I think it is pretty straight forward to see how storytelling most fundamentally applies such that even I can be the one that doesn’t. I have only a basic understanding of storytelling, but I don’t think you need to do more than work with its conventionally recognized fundamental elements and forms. Preview: The reader will come away understanding that the primary way to applying storytelling is at the total effort level in the form of a meta-story, and the theme that defines it is derived from the value of “giving value” and has interesting properties of which examining how to leverage and employ is you could say the subject matter of the larger theme theory effort that I would pursue over time, which kind of means on a substack.

2.1 One Story

The heart of this is idea is simple, but this is where the definitional claims in the first section pay off. Claim: The idea builds off the definitional/concept work from Section 1. We are going to apply storytelling to this creative form, which historically is novel. I will use “Creative Form” to mean the same thing as whenever I invoked “this kind of audience building”. Reason: This starts to show the use of the extensive conceptual/definitional breakdown in Section 1, which might have seemed overdone, but also established this type of audience building, as an endeavor, as a creative form. The section is then about applying storytelling to that creative form. That’s the idea. Link: This section builds on the definitional/conceptual points from the first section and sets up the next section titled What to Build which is about how the idea might apply to building the creative, and the endeavor, for this creative form. Summary: The heart of the idea is simple, this type of endeavor is represented as a creative form, and the idea is in what I think is the appropriate application of storytelling to this form. Foundations for what to build at the macro (organizational/endeavor) and micro (actual creative) look like they follow from it.

It is a premise based creative form, and the most high leverage application is to the premise – or the whole effort – before it is to the individual pieces of creative – the posts. Claim: this type of audience building may benefit from being identified as a creative form, as presented in Section 1. It is premise based, particularly drawn to this by its intent to persist indefinitely – that is publishing creative and building and holding audience. It is the premise at the overall level of the form that is more fundamental than at the individual creative/post level. Reason: This matters because it is one part of three that sets up the core idea. Also the concept of a creative form is classic (established for long time). However, while I don’t think many would argue that this idea is just wrong, still it is not common – actually, I haven’t seen it at all – to look at this kind of digital native audience building as its own creative form – or, to purposefully frame it that way for examination. So, this framing is novel. That matters to me because it is potentially something of value I am presenting here then. Link: This point is fundamental and sets up the next point, which is the second of three of the core idea set up. Summary: This type of audience building can be looked at as its own creative form, and it is premise based especially due to the long/open ended time window that it is meant to be employed.

Treat the whole effort as one story – which will be sort of a meta story. Claim: Since this is an effort meant to attract and hold attention through making and publishing creative, this is obviously where you should apply storytelling. The definition of this effort as a creative form lets us follow the concept as understood and that an instance of a creative form is a vehicle you tell a story with to be most interesting. People are wired to find stories inherently interesting. Following the potentially novel creative form insight from the last point, applying storytelling to the form is also likely novel. An old concept but reapplied to something new. Reason: This matters because while it is perhaps obvious that we should employ storytelling to be interesting in this audience building effort, to call out that the approach to apply it is at the total level as a meta story is not something I even see discussed anywhere. So, this is also potentially novel and potentially of value to. So, it matters because the new thing I am saying is that to be successful in this creative form, we should first look to apply storytelling to the overall effort, defining it as one story, which is actually a meta story, I guess. Link: This continues the last point and sets up the next point, which is sort of an interim point, but then the third point in the setup of the core idea. Summary: If the whole effort is a new type of creative form, the fundamental application of storytelling will be with an instance of that form, which is this type of audience building effort, in contrast primarily at the individual creative/post story level.

Default basis of story is the value of “giving value”. (path dependence!) Claim: This is a bit of an interim point in the three main points that set up the idea, but it isn’t any arbitrary basis for our storytelling we will apply: it will be based in the common understanding of “giving value”, or sharing something with the audience that will be valuable to them. Reason: This matters because much of what follows on employing storytelling here will be path dependent on this initial condition, and it will actually clarify actions in the process of developing this idea. Link: This refines the prior point by reminding us that the meta story won’t be about just anything, but based in the value the creator is sharing. Summary: The meta story will be based in the value the creator has to share (“giving value”).

Our challenge then is to identify the best or most interesting story to tell to achieve all three success criteria from section 1.5. Claim: We look to employ storytelling to make our effort in the creative form interesting so it can be successful. With that established, the challenge then is to identify the most interesting story based in your value you will share. Reason: This matters because as we look to apply storytelling, to further follow the development of this idea where it obviously goes, then the challenge becomes “what is the most interesting meta story I can tell – based in/on the value I have to give/share?” So, this is the idea (creative form -> storytelling applied to it ->most interesting story) and to follow through on it it is clear then to fulfill on this idea I need to follow through on fulfilling how to identify the most interesting story in this context. What’s more, that story has to enable us to meet our three success requirements/criteria from Section 1.5! Link: This fulfills the three part setup of the idea and sets up what follows which is how to follow through on identifying the most interesting story in this context. Summary: The challenge to be successful in the creative form, per the three success criteria from section 1.5, is to identify the most interesting meta story available to you based in the value you have to give/share.

This form is premise based, per section 1.2, which needs to be interesting in the form of “What’s that about?” and “Do I care?” from the potential viewer’s perspective. Claim: This creative form is premise based, and when it comes to interest, which is the basis of attention, we can use the working understanding of how potential viewers give their attention. We will build off of that again here in an update way, but one that echoes what we presented in section 1.2. Reason: This matters because we are looking to identify the most interesting meta story at our disposal. We can pick back up the screen of “what’s that about?” and “do I care?” to evaluate or examine whether a story is interesting or even maximally interesting. Link: This is the first point in the chain of reasoning to address the question of identifying the most interesting meta story we have the ability to tell, and sets up the next point, which refines this one in terms of story telling. So, it picks up the general concept from Section 1 and maps it in story terms. Summary: This creative form is premise based and therefore the premise needs to be interesting in itself and we have our working definition of it of “What’s that about?” and “Do I care?” to evaluate the potential interest of a meta story premise.

In story structure the premise, or “what it’s about” is generally the theme, which is about the resolution of the story.X Claim: The prior point recalled that the this creative form is premise driven, which is “What it’s about”. In story terms, the premise, or “what it’s about” is the theme, which is about the resolution of the story. Reason: This matters because this points us to the way to identify the most interesting meta story will be based in having the most interesting theme possible. I don’t know if we should preview this yet, but doing this working from value one of the big ideas is that there is a maximally interesting theme/premise working from nothing but common applications of good storytelling. Link: This updates the last point for us, casting it in terms of storytelling (story structure or story elements), and sets up the next point which reminds us we developed a tie with meaning to premise in the “giving value” case in Section 1.3. Summary: In story structure/element terms, the premise is the theme.

We also prior established (in section 1.3) that theme in the “giving value” case already likely aligns with common understandings of meaning. Claim: In the giving value case, theme very plausibly aligns with small-m meaning. Reason: This matters because we are not telling any story, but one based in the value the creator has to share. As I posed in Section 1.3, the premise derived from the value likely can be equated with small-m meaning. This will be useful to have brought up again as we move forward into the next section about the obvious classical story structure that embeds/embodies meaning of a goal oriented type. Link: This calls back to earlier concepts/points/claims we developed back in section 1.3 on interest and meaning in the value basis case, and this closes or ends this subsection and sets up the next subsection which presents that classical story structure that is obvious to apply in this case. Summary: in the giving value case, a premise in this creative form naturally aligns to small-m meaning to the extent it’s interesting, and this can be said of theme in this case too as it aligns with premise.

[Is this with last point?] Since we are applying value or giving value for the use of the viewer/audience, and that it should have meaning for them, and that meaning equals interest here, we can use the most classical straight forward forms that is based in just that in our effort to find the most interesting story given the value we are giving.

2.2 Classical Narrativization Structure with Value for Meta Story

The idea of a meta story is straight forward. Not a novel concept. However, for this creative form it has never been applied because … it’s not presented as a creative form! So let me make case for how it would go.

Here we adopt the classical narrativization story format and structure for the meta story. Claim: In this creative form, the classical narrativization structure fits our meta story setup. It is character driven in that we have the potential viewer in the role of the protagonist that will undergo some form of change or transformation related to our value, which will have a causal impact in realizing the transformation. Importantly, this is not novel – it’s just applying the obvious story structure invoked by this setup. Reason: This matters because the obvious type of story to tell is arguable classic story structure itself. We are in a good position to simply follow accumulated wisdom and knowledge here in applying a good choice of story form to this meta story. Link: This follows the last subsection to address what kind of story for the meta story and sets up the next few points that examine a few of these major elements in this story type. Summary: The classical narrativization story form fits with the setup of our meta story.

This is about the viewer. They are in the position of the protagonist of the story and not the creator, who is the classic guide. Claim: The viewer or audience member is the presumed protagonist of the story – it is about their change or transformation. A key distinction is that the creator is not the protagonist, but in the classic role of the guide to help the protagonist achieve the goal of the change. Again, this is nothing new and classically the standard format for, say, marketing storytelling. Reason: This matters because it absolutely anchors the story in the perspective of the audience, and not the creator, which easily happens and is less interesting. People care most about what happens to them and those they care most about. We can see how this naturally fits and gives support to “Do I care?” Link: This refines a point introduced in the last paragraph, as will the next few. Summary: The protagonist in our classical narrativization meta story is the audience member, and not the creator, who is plays the classic role of the guide.

The classical narrativization structure is grounded in a goal oriented resolution. The narrativization is in the form of causal events or steps that lead to the resolution. Claim: The classical narrativization (CN) structure is goal oriented. The narrativization, or laying out the story events in time, is in the form of causal events that lead to the goal oriented resolution. The causal nature and goal oriented-ness fit the goal of a desired change or transformation enabled by the value the creator has to share – the “giving value”. Reason: This matters because it shows that CNs goal oriented-ness fits with the desired change resulting from the use of the value shared, and the narrativization is embodied by a series of events that are causal – also following from the value. Link: Like the last point, this one refines further those in the introductory point of classical narrativization. Summary: The CN structure is grounded in a goal oriented resolution, and the narrativization is in the form of causally related events that lead to the resolution.

The premise is “What’s it about?”, directly maps to theme, which is “about” the resolution (definitionally). Claim: In terms of our working definition of interest from Section 1.2, “What’s it about?” is the premise (section 1.2) and that is the element of theme in story structure (section 2.1), which is about the resolution (slightly different that the resolution itself). So, in our CN structure for our meta story, our premise is about the goal oriented resolution of the CN story structure. Reason: This matters because building on prior points we developed, we can see our premise fits right into the CN theme element, and we pick up some context on it, or it’s definition develops a bit here. Again, none of this is really new – we are applying a well understood concept that has been applied millions of times before and many creatives are intimately familiar with. But, our theme given we are working from “giving value” is not any arbitrary theme, but consists of certain things. Link: This builds on prior points as mentioned and sets up the next point to explicitly pull in “giving value” as it relates to the theme. Summary: The premise of meta story, which is “What it’s about” directly maps to the meta story’s theme, which is “about” the CN goal oriented resolution.

We have the initial condition of the resolution being based in “giving value”. Claim: One important detail is that our resolution is path dependent on the value the creator has to share. The theme is derived from it. Reason: This matters since this creative form is premise based, and the premise is the theme of our meta story, then the fact that the theme is path dependent on the value and derived from it. This will play a big part in the next subsection, but it is an easy detail to miss but it ends up being foundational. Link: This adds to the prior point and sets up the next, which connects value to meaning. Summary: We have the initial condition of the resolution being based in the specific or particular value the creator will share.

The interest is based in how relevant and consequential that resolution is for the viewer. Claim: Our working definition of how attention is given given sharing value (from Section 1.3) was “Do I care?”, and we identified two major dimensions of caring: relevance and consequence. We’ve made the story about the viewer, a major move to enable both. How interesting then will follow from how relevant and consequential the CN meta story resolution is for the audience member. Reason: This matters because it refocuses us on the point of all this, which is to make interesting creative such that it can satisfy all three success criteria. We can now see that it is particularly the resolution which needs to be most relevant and most consequential to achieve that. Link: This further develops the last point and sets up the next, which is the last in this subsection. Summary: The interest in the premise can be more closely placed on how consequential and relevant the CN meta story resolution is for the audience member / viewer, which adds clarity to our effort in finding our most interesting story given the value the creator has to share.

We can see that this aligns cleanly with meaning, which is no surprise because classical narrativization itself does. Claim: The CN theme in it goal oriented focus for the protagonist naturally aligns with our earlier discussion/development of small-m meaning. Reason: This matters because being aligned with the concept of meaning is clarifying in our efforts and a desirable property or characteristic from the creators view in the effort to build an audience. Focusing on something meaningful to the audience is a good position for the creator. Link: The refines/adds to the last point and wraps the current subsection by connecting the CN theme with meaning (small-m!) for the viewer/audience member. Summary: The CN theme naturally aligns with meaning for the viewer/audience member which is no surprise as this is inherent in CN itself with its goal oriented resolution for the protagonist.

2.3 Optimizing Story from Value

What is the most interesting story? It is most relevant and consequential given the value. Claim: As established before, in terms of “Do I care?”, relevance and consequence are two major dimensions of a premise to be interesting. We need to take our CN meta story value derived resolution, which its theme is about, and make it as interesting as possible. Again, this is a premise based creative form (section 1.2), and so the theme is the point of leverage, and to identify the most interesting story derived from the value, we can turn that into an exercise of identifying how to make it as relevant and as impactful as possible. Due to our CN story structure with the viewer as at the protagonist, we have the foundation for relevance. Reason: This matters because this lets us shape the exercise to identify the most interesting story in particular terms that give us a focus by which to move to solve it. This builds from the points we developed on the creative form and the CN meta story structure we developed prior, as noted in the claim above. Link: This point is the start of the examination which is the focus of this subsection – what is the most interesting story (given the value you are sharing)? It sets up the next point which raises the fundamental approach to making a story more interesting. Summary: The most interesting story can be identified by looking at what is the most relevant and consequential resolution given the value.

The classic story guidance to make a story more interesting is to raise the stakes. Claim: The most fundamental and straightforward advice to making a story more interesting is to raise the stakes. We need to identify how you raise the stakes relative to the value the creator is sharing. In our CN meta story, this means raising the stakes for the protagonist. However, we are by definition raising the stakes when it comes to the value the creator has to share as it relates to the protagonist. Reason: This matters is that classical understanding of story form and storytelling present a proven fundamental approach to making a story more interesting, and it is clear how to apply it to this premise based creative format organized on a meta story. It becomes especially clarifying when we do this in the context of the initial condition of the value the creator has to share. We need to raise the stakes for the protagonist as it relates to the value. Link: This further develops the prior point and sets up the next point in a chain of reasoning the addresses this subsections focus. Summary: We can use the classic storytelling guidance to raise the stakes, in our case for the protagonist, to make a story more interesting.

In this case, the classical form of contrasting or presenting and ideal outcome fits perfectly. An ideal outcome is definitionally the most you could raise the stakes. So, to optimize we simply raise the stakes to the ideal. Claim: The ideal outcome compared to a current state is an utterly fundamental first order story principle, just like raising the stakes for the protagonist, and gives us a means to answer the question, “raise the stakes how?” Reason: This matters because the concept of an ideal gives us both a clear path to identify a best theme. But, we are also working from the value the creator has to share, which is known, and that is the context in which we raise the stakes for the protagonist. So, “raise the stakes how?” is to contrast the as-is state of the protagonist with an ideal brought about or that can be brought about or the promise of what the value could bring about for the protagonist.. Further, if are means of raising the stakes is to compare to an ideal the ideal provisionally presents that the idea that there is a maximum way to raise the stakes for the protagonist in relation to the value. If there is a maximum way to raise the stakes and if raising the stakes is the method of increasing interest – then there is theoretically a maximally interesting premise or theme of our CN meta story … all because of this particular condition of “giving value”. Link: This furthers the last point of raise the stakes to address “raise the stakes how?”, and sets up the next point of how we can interpret this concept for actual use by a creator given the value they will share. Summary: The answer to “raise the stakes how?” is to present an ideal outcome for the protagonist vis-à-vis the value the creator has to share, and theoretically that would present a maximally interesting theme for our CN meta story.

Identification! The ideal given the value and the viewer conceptually as the protagonist is the ideal if they has the fullest and best use – ideal use – of the value overtime? Claim: We can frame the idealized path of raising the stakes for the protagonist by sharing value as, “What would be the ideal potential outcome if the protagonist had the fullest and best use of the value over time?” Reason: This matters because it gives a clear framing or identification question the creator/audience builder can use to identify the maximally interesting resolution to the meta story. Since the creator knows or understands the value they are sharing/offering, this is not a challenging question to answer. Link: This further develops the last point by saying how you can identify your best CN meta story theme, and sets up the next point that further characterizes it. Summary: The creator can identify their ideal given the value they are sharing stating what the most desired potential outcome there would be for the protagonist if they had the fullest and best use of the value over time.

The fairy tale case. If you had that use and access and amount and time were no constraint – once you had that what would you say was supposed to have happened? Assume the current state or beginning of the story is the absence of that outcome, or something short of it. The best story then is about the realization of that fairy tale state. Claim: This may seem silly, but I want to call this out directly. In storytelling, this idealized outcome is literally the fairytale case. And that is interestingly correct. In this case, the most interesting outcome is literally the fairytale outcome – the most desired outcome as it relates to the value. Reason: This matters because it is a good alternate way to call this most interesting story. Saying fairytale may seem childish, but fairytales are a staple of storytelling for a reason. In this case it will be more practical than a child’s fairytale, but the point is when we say ideal outcome, don’t hesitate to speak of the ideal outcome. That is the point. Remember, this is the meta story and we don’t want to hold back on the conceptual promise of what we’re talking about: For this use to use anything less than the ideal would be leaving potential on the table. If this seems off or misguided, we will develop this later and it will make more practical sense. Link: This follows the last point to add an interesting angle to it, and sets up the next point which links all this back with how this related to meaning that we developed in section 1.3. Summary: As an different angle on what this ideal case is, you can think of it as the fairytale case. To know this helps to identify your theme.

Meaning and story structure align here. This cleanly aligns with meaning in that it is legible (using classical narrativization story structure ensures it), relevant (the viewer is conceptually the protagonist – with the value as it relates to them), and as consequential as possible given the basis of value. Claim: As developed in section 1.3, in the case of sharing value, and then identifying premise as the theme of a CN meta story above, the form of the CN meat story theme to optimize for interest also aligns very well with meaning (small-m as always) in that aligning “what’s that about?” with the CN meta story theme, and “Do I care?” with relevance and consequence. With raising the stakes we essentially looked to maximize consequence relative to our basis of giving value. But this aligns with meaning for the protagonist just as it lines up with being potentially interesting to the protagonist, who is our viewer/audience member. Reason: This matters to again show the link between interest and meaning in this context, or to underscore or reinforce the point again. It will be useful as we think about how to tell the story and what actual creative to build in upcoming sections. Link: This connect the developments through the last point with meaning as developed earlier (section 1.3). This is good context for the next point. Summary: I reinforce the point here that the interest we have sought to optimize here equates with meaning here too, or meaning and interest both align.

And this all relates to your business or endeavor because it’s all derived/related to the value. Claim: Because we based our theme in the value the creator has to share, it is grounded in something directly related to your business or endeavor also. So, it is optimized for maximal interest, but such that it is also related to your business or endeavor. Reason: This matters because inherent in this creative form as we developed in the success criteria (section 1.3) that the purpose is not just build audience, but such that it can drive your business or endeavor. This maintains that link. Link: This reinforces a point we made earlier (section 1.3) that basing in value links the effort to the creator’s business or endeavor. Summary: Basing the meta story theme in the value the creator offers preserves the link in this audience building effort to the creator’s business or endeavor.

Lastly, there is one adjustment we make to the theme of our meta story so that it is optimized for the creative form. That is to have a basis that is interesting in an ongoing basis and does not have final closure. Claim: Since the effort needs to operate plausibly indefinitely, we want a theme that also stays relevant and consequential indefinitely. The simple way to achieve this is to make the theme not about a resolution that gives strict closure, but that achieves an idealized state that would be desired to be maintained. Reason: This matters because a resolution with closure would by counter to the objective to build an audience by baking in the automatic dropping of relevance to audience members. Link: This adds to the last point about needing to be relevant to the creator’s business or endeavor. It finishes this subsection, but sets up along with the prior point, something we will develop in the next subsection. Summary: Inherent in the needs of this creative form are to be interesting on an ongoing, indefinite basis. We can achieve this by not having the resolution with closure as in the standard CN story, but to have one that the desired resolution is a state that is desired to be maintained, or in this case the ideal outcome can be defined as a idealized state rather than a final closure.

2.4 IAS

Finally, let’s define this most interesting premise, the CN meta story theme, explicitly as an Idealized Achieved State. I don’t have a better term for it, so I will use that literal label for now and abbreviate it as an IAS, but this is the theme of the most interesting story as it relates to the value. Let’s examine it, because it’s characteristics are what make this idea valuable, as expanded on here and in WTB Claim: From the last subsection where we looked to optimize the interest of our CN meta story based in the value the creator shares. In this premise based creative form, that is the theme, and what we arrived at is an idealized achieved state, which I will abbreviate as IAS.
Reason: This matters because I think it is actually a special case with highly desirable characteristics for the audience builder. Link: This takes up what we developed in the prior subsection and sets up the rest of this subsection where we will examine it further. Summary: Our optimized story from the last subsection gave us a particular form of theme which is an Idealized Achieved State.

It is derived from the value, which you know before hand. This means you can identify the IAS proscriptively. Claim: This is a really interesting suggested property of the IAS. The process we went through, using nothing but fundamental story principles, showed we could reason our way from the value which the creator will share and to the IAS. Since the creator knows the value before making and publishing creative, and you can reason from the value to the IAS, that means you can prospectively identify the IAS. Reason: This matters because that is a highly impactful contention. That means the IAS can be identified given the value and does not have to be discovered via publishing. Link: This takes the IAS concept developed in the last subsection and it presents the first of several desirable properties of it. Summary: The IAS can be derived prospectively from just the value the creator has to share.

As the most interesting premise, it meets demand gen criterial 1. Claim: We developed the idea that the IAS is a maximally interesting resolution given it is based on an ideal case. Therefore this is the most interesting theme for the CN meta story. Therefore, this is conceptually is a best solve for success criteria #1 from section 1.2: the creative needs to generate demand for itself. Reason: This matters because it arguably a best solution to the first of our success criteria, which is highly desirable property. Link: This is another in the list of highly desirable properties of the IAS. Summary: The IAS arguably satisfies the best answer for success criteria #1.

With meeting criteria 1, and being derived from the value, it arguably maximally achieves criteria 2 – demand gen for the business or endeavor. Claim: The IAS is derived from the value the creator shares, which establishes the fundamental link to the creator’s business or endeavor simultaneously with being most interesting given being based in the value. Reason: This matters because this preserves the ability to achieve success criteria #2 on top of the maximal basis to achieve success criteria #1. Link: This is another in the list of highly desirable properties of the IAS. Summary: The IAS also is fundamentally situated to solve for success criteria #2.

Finally, to meet the 3rd criteria of the premise being perpetually interesting, while being consistent, we make sure to define the IAS in terms that it never transactionally completes. Claim: The IAS is an open ended ideal state, meaning that it doesn’t have a terminal or ending event. Reason: This matters because this is the characteristic of the IAS that satisfies success criteria #3, which is that the effort conceptually needs to be able to go on in perpetuity. Link: This is another in the list of highly desirable properties of the IAS. Summary: The IAS is also fundamentally situated to solve for success criteria #3

It is the fundamental strategy/design/organization element to this CREATIVE FORM (this kind of audience building) Claim: Establishing this, this is what we do in Section 3 – work through the conceptual implication for implementing the form, and in Section 4, where I talk more specifically about the implications of what specific creative to build, to what effect, and how. It’s just story structure! But it captures fundamentally the objectives of this creative form Reason: This matters because what this says is that the IAS is the unit of organization of this creative form. It is the first principle element. I think it matters to call this out explicitly to the creator … the strategist, etc. Link: This is another in the list of characteristics of the IAS. Summary: The IAS is the fundamental strategy/design/organizational element of this creative form.

This IAS, with its ideal future state, if that state requires participation and building to over time by the viewer, ends up being interestingly special as a premise to build and engage audience when it comes to what (creative) to build to do it: It opens the door to not just digital media creative, but digital software creative too, as discussed in sections 3.6 and 4.2. Claim: The IAS, if it requires participation and building to over time by the viewer to achieve opens the door to not just digital media creative, but software, data, and AI too, which you can actually conceive of as digital services creative. T Reason: This matter because this is an aspect of this kind of audience building and this creative form that is not recognized, but this creative form is a digital native format and with the right opportunities can naturally employ more tech creative in addition to digital media creative. Link: This makes a final point in the list of interesting or desirable characteristics of the IAS for builders/creators operating in this creative form. Summary: The IAS presents the opportunity in cases where the actions of the viewer build over time to achieve the IAS to employ digital services creative – software, data, and AI – in addition to digital media creative.

Section 3 – Audience Building: Telling the Meta Story

Section 3 - Introduction Purpose: This section exists to address the question of what core idea means conceptually for the creator. Context: This section follows the presentation of what the core idea is conceptually, so now shifting perspective to that of the creator and what it means conceptually from their perspective makes sense to follow. Focus: This main concept or mechanism of this section is to take the perspective of the creator and do in effect a conceptual walkthrough of what theme theory implies for them in engaging in the effort of audience building in the case of giving value for success. Preview: What the reader will come away understanding is that they can prospectively both identify and examine their maximally interesting theme derived from the value they give and that they can frame the aim of their creative as satisfying the theme and that the theme funnel is a good way to visualize audience health on this basis and finally that there is the prospect of employing not just media creative but tech creative in the form of software, data, and AI, and also commercial products and services to satisfy the theme as well to build, hold, and engage audience.

3.1 Shift Back to Perspective of Creator

The last section was inherently conceptual, developing the idea of this kind of audience building being its own creative form in telling a meta story that naturally has an optimal theme derived from the value the creator has to share with the audience. This section changes perspective back to the creator who faces employing the form and telling the story for their objectives. Claim: The last section was mostly abstract and conceptual to build the core idea. This section, while still mostly conceptual, shifts back to the perspective of the creator or builder employing this creative form for effect. Reason: This matters because this section begins to answer the question of, given the core idea, how does the builder or creator use it in their efforts to successfully build audience? Link: This point presents a shift of sorts from the last section and sets up the material in this section. Summary: This section shifts back to the perspective of the builder or creator in conceptually how they use the core idea presented in the last section.

3.2 Employing the Creative Form

From the creator’s perspective, you tell the meta story over time via posts. Claim: As developed in sections 1.2, 1.3, and 2.1, this type of audience building is arguably its own creative form, and the audience building effort can be thought of as telling one story, the IAS based meta story derived from the value the creator has to share. This story is told indefinitely over time via posts. Reason: This matters because posts are the creative artifact that creators actually create and publish to reach and build their audience. They are the actual means. Link: This builds on the last point of interpreting the core idea from the creator’s perspective and sets up the next point to develop what posts can be. Summary: Working in this creative form, the creator tells the IAS based meta story though posts.

As a digital native format posts can contain any media format: text, audio, image, and video. Claim: Being a digital native format, posts – not on every platform, but increasingly so and across the dominant platforms this is all available – posts generally can hold or convey any type of creative: text, audio, image, and video. Reason: This matters because the digital form of posts means creators are largely unconstrained in the type of creative media they can employ, and there is no technical need for consistency. However, short form video has become preferred by the major algorithms recently largely instigated by TikTok. Link: This develops the last point and sets foundational context for the next few points. Summary: Posts can carry any media format in digital form: text, audio, image, and video.

We will talk about actual content below, but conceptually(?) from a story telling perspective, this form is mediated by the algorithms for distribution. Claim: The reach or distribution of posts is mediated by the platform algorithms, as discussed in section 1.2. The algorithms generally establish demonstrated interest by testing the creative versus target or sample audiences and giving more distribution to creative that proves interesting. This is also generally done for each post independently. Reason: This matters because the reach each post gets is determined by how interesting it proved to be when presented to potential viewers and this evaluation is done generally independently post to post. Link: This further develops the last point and is further developed in the next few points. Summary: The algorithms mediate the distribution of your creative mostly by demonstrated interest and this is done effectively independently post to post.

The demands of posting frequently and indefinitely characterize the typical implementation/employment. Claim: The demands in being successful in this creative form militate toward a high frequency of posting – often daily or more – to achieve the success criteria. Reason: This matters because it establishes that frequent posting is generally inherent to the form because of the success criteria. Link: This further adds to the last few points and sets up the next point on the fundamental storytelling idea of continuity. Summary: The demands of success in this form generally lead to posting frequently – often daily or more.

Compared to other creative forms, (nobody was asking this, but it points out a fundamental dimension) due to these dynamics, there is no strict continuity in this form. You can employ it wherever you want as a creator, but there is no strict need for it due to the mediation of the algorithms and the viewing behavior of the audience. Claim: Compared to classical narrativization stories in other forms (particularly traditional media, like movies or novels) because of the mediation of distribution by the algorithms done independently post-by-post and the typical frequency of posting in this form there is no strict continuity post-to-post in this type of storytelling. Reason: This matters because invoking the fundamental story form of classical narrativization is fundamental/useful in this creative form based in “giving value”, but classically that form has strict continuity, say, scene to scene. There is no such requirement here nor could there be due to the frequency of posts and the mediation of the algorithms. This does give the creator wide latitude on what to post post-to-post. Link: This develops the last few points and also sets up the next point on unity, which addressed the continuity point made here. Summary: Unlike classical narrativization in traditional forms like movies, serial tv, or novels, in this digital native creative form of it there is no strict continuity post-to-post.

Given that, the unity of effect in the form is in the IAS form theme, or premise. Posts need to plausibly relate to the theme from the perspective of the audience, but the creator has much more leeway than any prior form. Everyone intuitively gets that, but I think it’s just worth pointing out explicitly. We will see then that that is the only real constraint and within that whatever work to build and hold audience is true to the form. Claim: The classic story idea of unity of effect is all direct to the premise in the form of the IAS – it is about the viewers relationship to the IAS. This also addresses the last point on technically there being a lack of strict continuity. Another way to look at it is the continuity is that all creative relate to or satisfy the theme, but there is wide latitude to do that post-to-post. Reason: This matters because it presents first principle form structure for the creator/builder so that they understand the unity of effect they are aiming at is to have creative that relates to that IAS premise but is largely decoupled from the need for strict continuity. Link: This further develops the last point and completes much of what has been developed in this subsection. The next two points cap it off. Summary: The unity in this form is fundamentally to relate to the theme, which is the potential ideal for a viewer of what the value ultimately promises, and that connects all the content but leaves great leeway to the creator in what to post.

Note! Creative can inherit the meta story to facilitate telling particular stories in their posts/actual creative. This is developed in section 4.1 and in corpus. Claim: The creator has wide latitude in what to create but must stick to relation to the premise, but enabling the creator all posts also inherit the meta story, which they can then treat in the instance of the post. This is a major point in the material referenced in section 4.1. Reason: This matters because while there are constraints in what post can be about they do have the frame and guidance of the meta story, which can be highly generative (enabling of the creator in producing creative). Link: This adds some context to the points from this section and relates to the next which does the same. Summary: Post creative does inherit all the generative capacity of the meta story

Again, it is through this activity of creating in this form that the creator looks to achieve the three success criteria. Claim: Also, I want to relate this to the success criteria in close for this section because they literally define the form. The reason the creator makes creative and posts is to achieve the three success criteria. Reason: This matters because this is the ultimate context of the employment of this creative form. Link: This point finishes this subsection and sets up the next. This subsection talked about the concepts of employing this form and the next is the first task this idea points the creator as to where to start. Summary: The context of creating (making creative an posting) in this form is to achieve the success criteria.

3.3 Identify and Evaluate Your Theme

The first step in employing the form by telling the meta story is to identify your IAS theme. Claim: The first step in audience building based on this idea is to identify and evaluate your theme, which derives from the value you will share with the audience. Reason: The reason this matters is that this idea or theory presents this ability to identify your maximally interesting and productive theme up front. Link: This is the intro step to this subsection and sets up the next that addresses how to do it. Summary: The first step this idea presents in building audience is to identify your IAS theme.

As developed in the last section, the theme can be derived from the value itself. What would be the obvious desired outcome if the viewer had the fullest and best use over time of the value you’re sharing? Again, it’s literally the fairytale state. Claim: As developed in the last section, the theme can be derived from the value itself simply by asking what would be the fullest and best use of the value over time? Again, it is literally the fairy tale desired state. This can be done strictly by reasoning. Reason: This matters because there is an ideal outcome and you can identify it just through reasoning. This does presuppose that the creator is in fact competent in understanding and knowing the value, but identification of your IAS them can be directly resolved if you have command of the value. Link: This adds to the last point and sets up the next since you can reason to the theme from the value, which you know. Summary: The theme can be derived from the value itself, which we assume the potential creator has command of.

You have ability to prospectively evaluate the opportunity in the theme. Who is it relevant to, how consequential is it, and how much do they care? Claim: Next, the creator should evaluate the opportunity. Since the theme can be identified directly from the value, which the creator is assumed to have command of (understanding of), this evaluation can be done prospectively, meaning before having to extensively discover through publishing. You can reason about it by asking the meaning related questions of who it is relevant to, how consequential is it to them, and how much to the care? You can reason about an estimate of the potential audience in this way. Reason: This matters because it gives the creator something other than arbitrary means to reason about the potential audience, and per the last point, this can be done prospectively. Link: This point draws on the last and leads into the next which adds to it. Summary: You can prospectively reason about the potential audience using the meaning based criteria we developed initially in section 1.3.

Since the theme is literally a fairytale state – an ideal state, this exercise naturally leads to defining a total potential audience. Claim: When we use the theme to reason about the potential audience, since the IAS theme is based in an ideal state, a fairytale state, in naturally leads to reasoning about a total potential audience. For instance, who would potentially be interested in a particular ideal outcome? Likely all who are potentially interested at all. The point of invoking fairytale again in this instance is it argues for not filtering or editing because you don’t think it’s plausible. Assume the ideal state for the audience. Reason: This matters because our means of evaluation of the potential audience naturally leads us to look at a total potential audience. It is easier to then target a subset of that if desired rather than start from identifying the many possible subsets and wondering which is relevant. Link: This adds to the last point and sets up the next which asks how competitive that total potential audience space is from a creator standpoint. Summary: Since the theme is based on an ideal desired state relative to the value the creator has to share, it naturally lends itself to identifying the total potential audience.

Not all themes have significant promise or promise to make the effort worthwhile. Claim: Not all themes have significant or hoped for promise to make the effort worthwhile. Reason: This matters because just because you can identify your theme derived from your value doesn’t mean that its potential audience is large enough or might care enough to make audience building strictly worthwhile. Of course, that doesn’t mean the creator can’t build an audience, but they may not have good prospect to build one large enough and in a way that can achieve the success criteria of driving their business or endeavor. Link: This is an important follow up to the prior point. The next two points also impact the potential of the audience to the creator. Summary: Not all themes have significant promise or enough promise to make the effort worthwhile by our success criteria.

You can also evaluate the current competitive environment of that space. It may be anywhere from broad and highly competitive to narrow or small and relatively uncontested. A saturated space has pros and cons, but is not inherently negative. Claim: The total potential audience evaluation also is a productive way to identify the potential audience such that you can determine how competitive it is with other creators and creative vying for their attention as it relates to your theme. A highly saturated space is not strictly positive or negative, but important to be aware of when evaluating your theme’s potential for audience building. Reason: This matters to understand how competitive operating in the space identified by your theme will be. In the online environment, a competitive space isn’t inherently negative in that you can collaborate with other creators and or use the significant amount of creative posted to generate material – reactions, ideation, etc. Link: This adds to the prior points on audience potential and the next point does as well from a novel angle. Summary: You can also evaluate the competitive environment of the space defined by the theme.

Also, there is an interesting dynamic developed below on whether a theme requires actions building over time to achieve for the viewer/protagonist. If so, since this is a digital native formant, it opens up the potential to employ other creative beyond just digital media or even goods and services: software, data, and AI. Claim: There is an interesting dynamic on audience potential we develop in sections 3.6 and 4.2 where certain themes that require the viewer to build up to over time with successive actions to achieve the IAS present the potential for using not just digital media, but digital tech (services) like software, data, and AI. Reason: This matters because it opens up what the creator can contemplate creating/building to build and engage an audience. This is an interesting insight that follows from the core idea. Link: This finishes the points in this subsection, and in the context of it previews an interesting insight that follows from the core idea that will be developed later. I’ve done this a few times because this is a significant insight and once I develop it I want them to anticipate it. Summary: Certain themes that require the viewer to build to with successive actions over time present the opportunity for more audience potential than might be initially realized in the form of tech creative like software, data, and AI.

3.4 Theme Funnel Orients Creator to WTB: Satisfy the Theme

To engage in audience building, the creator makes and posts. For guidance on what to post, look at what should happen if creative satisfies or treats the theme. Posts should satisfy the theme. What does that mean? Claim: Now we have a theme, what guidance does the idea provide on what to post. We start conceptually here and develop it specifically in section 4.1. Posts should satisfy the theme. What should happen for the audience if it does that? You want viewers to develop an awareness of the theme (attract viewers/audience) and ultimately you would like them to experience or achieve positive steps or movement toward the IAS for themselves and ideally you’d love to see people in the audience achieve it. The more the better.
Reason: This matters because it is the fundamental conceptual guidance on what creative is about in this form based on the success criteria: satisfying or treating the theme. Link: This begins this section, following the last where we talked about identifying the a theme, and sets up the next post which develops this further. Summary: To engage in audience building, the creator makes and posts. For guidance on what to post, we look at what should happen if creative satisfies or treats the theme.

What would we expect to be the impact on the audience if we satisfy the theme with our posts and are successful? Claim: If we satisfy the theme with our posts and are successful that success would be attracting attention and audience on the basis of the theme and also real impact in that audience of not just consumption of creative but some degree of impact in some audience member’s lives as it relates to the IAS. So development or progress toward it and of course realization of it. Reason: This matters because satisfying the theme not only implies that we are building audience, but that, since the theme is about other people (audience, not the creator) having that or realizing that IAS, then you want to see that happening! Link: This follows the last point (I didn’t do a good job of separating this from the last point, I kind of did it there too. If it can be separated more cleanly, I think that would be good), and is further developed in the next point. Summary: If our creative satisfies the theme for the audience, we would expect the real effect of that to be attracting attention and audience, and actual real life impact for some of the audience to see real progress toward or realization of the IAS for themselves.

The more audience the better, but there is no strict need to have any audience member actually realize impact in their own life, but you still would expect to see it as a creator if you’re successful. Claim: It is okay for people to become part of the audience but not act on the theme in their own lives. Being in the audience in that way at least means awareness and likely increasing interest and understanding of the theme as it relates to them, and that should be looked at as good all in its own. However, as the creator, you would like to see some real life impact in the form of some people engaging to the point they begin participating in their own life to achieving the IAS. This idea points to that that should be the desire and purpose of the creator! The point is that the creator is working at this through the remove of digital creative. It’s okay just to have people present and appreciative, and there is no strict need that any particular audience member engages and achieves progress or actually realizes the IAS. But you want to see at least some of it happening and the more the better. Reason: This matters just to set the right expectations and that none of this implies that each audience member is supposed to engage and make progress or realize the IAS. But you want it just the same and hope to make as much of it happen as you can by being good at treating the theme with interesting and entertaining creative that satisfies the theme. Link: This further refines the last point and sets up the next on a fundamental way to visualize how successful it’s going. Summary: The more audience the better, but there is no strict need to have any audience member actually realize impact in their own life, but you still would expect to see it as a creator if you’re successful.

Let’s visualize that with its own kind of audience funnel – I’ll just call it a theme funnel. Claim: This concept of ongoing gauging of success can be presented visually. I’ll use the common funnel metaphor, but presenting a view of the audience to gauge success. We can use a funnel metaphor to view our success by looking at our impact on the audience. I envision the funnel horizontally, from left to right: wide on the left and narrowing to the right. At the end of the funnel is the IAS. The x-axis represents conceptually distance from realizing the IAS. The y-axis simply exists to give us a sense of volume, because we fill the funnel with people in the audience. Imagine doing it with dots in the funnel. Each dot can represent someone in the audience or some number of people (like each dot representing X audience members). So, you can visualize volume/scale of audience, how close/far relative numbers of audience are from realizing the IAS, and a way to visualize progress or movement of audience overtime to IAS. Reason: The reason this matters because this represents the what would happen if the creators creative satisfying the theme successfully connects with the potential audience and a way to visualize it developing over time. You would simply want to see the funnel fill up, and some movement from left to right of that audience over time! Note, in a pure digital media audience there are likely no ways to get this information with fidelity. Well, the audience size? Yes. Movement from left to right? Likely not. But this visual neatly gives a sense of the point of it all. Link: This further develops the last point by turning it into a concept visual and sets up the next few points that comment on particular aspects of it. Summary: This point sketches out a funnel visual to project the state of your audience.

You can think of the funnel as us taking the IAS and projecting back from it and looking back at the audience from that perspective. Claim: To provide an additional way to look at this, we are taking the result of our main idea, the IAS, anchoring from that perspective, and then projecting back to look at the audience as their real life state relates to it. Anyone that is further from realizing it will simply be further away. Anyone in the audience, that has watched some creative and might watch more is there. This is like a projection from our main concept back to look at the audience relative to it. Reason: This matters because it is just another way to explain what this funnel visualization is from the perspective of grounding completely in the core concept of this paper (The IAS that follows from the idea of the optimized meta story derived from the value the creator shares). Link: This relates to the last point but giving an additional way to look at it, and is the first in a series of points to add context to the funnel visual concept. Summary: You can also think of the funnel visual concept as projecting back from the IAS to view the audience in reference to their real life state relative to it.

You want to both fill it up and generate overall some degree of positive progress toward the IAS. It’s like a flow that generates a yield.
Claim: The state of the audience from the creator’s perspective is simply how full the funnel is and is there any flow of the audience from left to right toward the IAS. Reason: This matters because it presents visually the state of the audience in a way that speaks to its health and the likelihood that you are achieving the three success criteria. Link: This points out particular relevant points building on the funnel visual concept and is the second of a few. Summary: This visual is a way of presenting the fundamental state of the audience – how many are there, where they lie(?) in their real life relative to the IAS, and what movement there is in their real life toward the IAS.

Top of the funnel heavy is not per se a negative thing! Claim: The top of the funnel would represent those that have come into the audience but haven’t realized any appreciable realization or movement toward the IAS in their real life. And that is okay! You want them to be happy to be there, but that just means they enjoy the content on the premise and are simply audience of the media creative, but outside of that there is no real life impact yet. Reason: This matters because that is okay! If you are presenting something meaningful to the audience that can impact their real life, and they are in the audience but haven’t gone further than that yet, you as a creator should be happy that is happening! The more the better! People that are in the audience in that way surely are prime candidates for starting to engage in real life progress toward the IAS. Link: This builds on the funnel visual concept point and is third(?) in a set of additional points about it. Summary: A heavy top of the funnel is not per se a negative thing at all. If those are people who want to be there and appreciate your creative, you can achieve all three success criteria through an audience made of them alone.

You are the guide, present in or through the creative itself, but also known as the creator of it. The creators role is to produce and publish creative to reach, build, develop, and hold audience from this positioning. Claim: This makes the role of the creator clear – they are the guide in the traditional storytelling framework. They are not the protagonist. They bring the audience in and are the classical guide to enable them to engage and make progress toward the IAS that derives from the value they share. Reason: This matters because the funnel visual helps shows us the focus is the audience, they are the protagonists in the story, and that makes the role of the creator clear and obvious too as the guide. This is about the audience and their relation to the IAS. Link: This builds on the funnel visual concept point and is fourth(?) in a set of additional points about it. Summary: The creator is in the role of the guide and is not the protagonist, and the funnel helps us frame that.

You are at a remove trying to make real life outcomes happen, but that’s what you should hope to make happen. If it does in a healthy sense then you are satisfying the theme overall and this would mean realization of small-m meaning in the audience, which I think is special to whatever extent a creator leads to making that happen. Claim: Especially when it comes to beyond just media consumption but to have an effect in real life for people in the audience, the creator works from a remove of connecting through the creative they produce. Reason: This matters because it sets the creator’s expectations appropriately. Impacting people in real life at a remove like this is in the end a derivative phenomenon. Not that it can’t happen – it should be the aim and desire and the motivation of the creator. But they should also be realistic and appreciate whatever extent or any extent they make it happen. Again, just having a consumptive audience that is there by choice is a positive impact on the audience and still enables the creator to achieve their three success criteria. However, real life impact is a healthy and wonderful prospect for the creator just the same. Link: This builds on the funnel visual concept point and is fifth(?) in a set of additional points about it. Summary: It is important for the creator to remember they are at a remove from their audience and if they will have impact on their actual lives it will be through creative. They should seek to have real impact but manage their expectations accordingly just the same.

Of the three success criteria, this funnel helps us see the first and the third. The next subsection addresses the second which is derivative of what this funnel visualizes. Claim: Of our three success criteria, it is clear what we’ve visualized here with the funnel helps the creator achieve the first success criterion on creating demand for the creative itself, and the third that this needs to continue perpetually over time. In the next subsection I will revisit again exactly how it enables the second criterion of generating demand for the creator’s business or endeavor. Reason: This matters just to be clear with the creator on what drives the success of which criterion. Link: This caps this subsection and tees up the next subsection. Summary: Of the three success criteria, the funnel visual presents directly the first and the third. In the next subsection I will cover again the second.

3.5 Satisfying the Theme Generates Awareness, Consideration, and Preference

Two cases: First, do you have a business or are you monetizing beyond just having an audience? Claim: To meet the second criteria, as developed in section 1.3, the creator through satisfying the theme with their creative stands to generate awareness, consideration, and preference. As we walk through how the creator will do this conceptually in the creative, we will do it considering two cases – does the creator already have a business or endeavor they are monetizing, or just as a native creator with an audience but no other monetization? I will start with the first case. Reason: This matters because how the second criteria is achieved depends on whether the creator already has an existing business they are monetizing or not. Link: This point starts this subsection and sets up the next point. Summary: There are two cases for how the creator will generate demand for their business or endeavor – when they have an existing business or not? We start with the first.

The technical point we developed in Section 1.2 that the with audience building the product is the creative itself, and that is represented in our first success criteria, argues that advertising is about other goods and services primarily and converting viewers to their sales and therefore is different from, but certainly potentially supported by, this kind of audience building. CREATIVE IS THE PRODUCT ITSELF BECAUSE WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO CONVERT IS ATTENTION. Claim: Audience building is different than advertising, but absolutely can work in conjunction with it. It is specifically distinct from advertising in that the creative is the product itself and what you are trying to convert is attention. Reason: This matters because it defines why this is specifically different from advertising. Link: This proceeds from the last point and begins a chain of reasoning on how an existing business generates demand for itself through audience building. Summary: In audience building, the creative itself is the product because what we are trying to convert is the viewers attention – show creative, get their attention.

In section 1.3 we further developed that the way the creator achieves the second success criteria, if not explicitly through advertising, achieves the second success criteria by achieving awareness, consideration, and preference. How does this happen? Claim: As developed in section 1.3, the way the creator achieves success criterion two of drive their business or endeavor is through generating awareness, consideration, and preference. In this first case of a creator with an existing business I will walk though how. Reason: This matters because the creator should understand how they can generate A/C/P for their goods or services for their existing business if they aren’t advertising them in directly in the creative. Link: This builds on the last point and sets up the next, which continues the chain of reasoning. Summary: Bringing back up that in this case the creator generates demand via audience building by generating awareness, consideration, and preference which I’ll explain now.

First, in the role of the guide satisfying the theme, the creator is in a sound position to have the audience like, know, and trust him. This positive disposition is related to the creator’s business or endeavor through the theme which is based on the value they offer. Claim: First, in the role of the guide and satisfying the theme, which is directly linked to the creator’s business or endeavor because it is derived from the value they share, the creator is in a strong fundamental position to have the audience like, know, and trust them as the appreciated guide or advisor. Reason: This matters because it established the basis for generating A/C/P, and it is through the classic marketing objective of having the audience like, know, and trust you in a way the relates to your business or endeavor. This is particularly natural to achieve because the theme is grounded entirely in an outcome or change the audience desires for themselves. The creator is naturally and fundamentally in service to the audience and not focused on themselves. They are in a natural and solid position to be appreciated. Link: This further develops the last point and sets up the next. Summary: First, the creator as the guide is positioned to have the audience like, know, and trust them.

Second, since the creator has a business or endeavor that creates goods or with the throughline of the value they supply or enable the theme. Therefore, the creator can fully use all things related to the business to help demonstrate in creative where it works. The good news is that it can be employed extensively. Claim: The creator has goods or services as a part of their business or endeavor that the value derives from and that supply or enable the theme, just like the value does. The creator can naturally use all things with the business to demonstrate in creative where appropriate, and these opportunities should be voluminous, in topics that satisfy the theme. Example: Reason: This matters because it shows how the creator’s business or endeavor can be front and center in the creative without the point being at all to sell or promote those goods or services. They can be used as setting and props and parts of the story to demonstrate. The business or endeavor and the goods and services can be more ever present and part of the show than may be obvious, all without promoting them. They’re support in service of creative satisfying the theme. Link: This builds on the last point and sets up the next in this chain of reasoning. Summary: The creator can make strategically supporting use of their business or endeavor and its goods or services for demonstration, setting, and support in their creative as extensively as they work for those purposes in the creative, which can be pretty extensively.

Through enabling the audience to like, know, and trust them in relation to the theme and the ability to make full use of their existing business or endeavor and it’s products and/or services for demonstration purposes, the creator is in a productive position to generate awareness, consideration, and preference for the creator’s business or endeavor. Claim: In enabling the audience to like, know, and trust them on the theme that their goods and services enable and that they have the ability to make full use of their business or endeavor for demonstration, setting, creative material generation, etc., the creator is effectively and productively positioned to generate awareness, consideration, and preference in this type of audience building all without directly marketing, advertising, or selling within it and keeping fidelity with the theme that is entirely anchored in the perspective and desires of the audience. Reason: This matters because the creator will need to be artful or creative in how they generate awareness, consideration, and preference, but this shows the means and resources they have to generate it, and they are full. Link: This caps the prior few points and makes the final point for the case of the creator with an existing business or endeavor that they monetize. This sets up the case of the native creator next who has no existing business or endeavor they are monetizing. Summary: The creator generated demand for their business or endeavor by enabling the audience to like, know, and trust them in relation to the audience centered theme that their business or endeavor also enables, and using their business or endeavor as setting, for demonstration, material generation, etc. opportunistically all that can generate awareness, consideration, and preference for their existing business or endeavor.

In the case of a pure play audience building creator, this all applies and it is the theme based creative itself that the creator builds awareness, consideration, and preference for. This sets the creator up to build distribution, in the form of the audience, for products and services relevant to the theme. Claim: In the case of the native creator with no business or endeavor, their audience building is their business or endeavor. It helps to use our definition of the creative being the product itself, and you can think of success in criteria two in this case as building awareness, consideration, and preference for their creative and the theme itself. This path has the most potential to build a corresponding business or endeavor on the theme that the creator can monetize through with the audience setting up distribution for it. However, in the pure creator case, the primary monetization is through the audience itself in the form of sponsorships, third-party ads, subscriptions, etc. Reason: This matters because audience building is actually the same in either case, but the way you look at our second success criteria, in effect broader monetization, is on a spectrum almost like a maturity spectrum, as we’ll see. The nature of the IAS theme itself maximizes opportunity, if it’s there to drive demand for goods and services, as we’ve seen, but also to employ tech like software, data, and AI, which is not a generally presented opportunity. Link: This presents the second case in comparison to the first, which was wrapped up in the last point. This sets up the next point on the opportunity to extend into more tech creative like software, data, and AI. Summary: In the native creator case, the business or endeavor is the audience itself and that is how success criteria two is achieved in generating demand for itself and monetizing through traditional audience means like sponsorship, 3rd party advertising, subscriptions, etc.

In addition, since this is a digital native creative form, there is also the possibility of not just digital media creative, but what you would consider digital services (interactive creative): software, data, and AI. Claim: In addition, since this is a digital native form, there is the possibility of employ not just digital media but also what we can call digital services like software, data, and AI. It’s essentially interactive digital creative. The next subsection develops this a bit, and section 4.2 introduces it from the actual WTB perspective. Reason: This matters because this is actually a natural extension of what creative you employ to satisfy the theme but I don’t think this argument or connection is generally made.
Link: This adds to the last point and sets up the next subsection. Summary: Since this is a digital native format, and theme being structured the way it is, theme also presents the possibility and maximum potential for employing not just digital media, but digital services creative like software, data, and AI.

3.6 Types of Themes that Enable Extended Creative Options

As a digital native creative form, there is opportunity to employ other digital native creative beyond just media: software, data, and AI. Claim: As a digital native form, there is opportunity to employ other digital native creative beyond just media: software, data, and AI.. These aren’t often thought of as creative like digital media, but they are. If text, audio, images, and video are digital media, you can think of software, data, and AI as digital services, or interactive creative. Theme presents the opportunity naturally as I’ll develop in the next few points. Reason: This matters because this is a whole additional resource(?) of creative that can be employed to build and engage an audience and the value derived theme makes it obvious to a degree when there is opportunity to do so and how. Link: This builds on the prior subsections to introduce a new kind of creative (it’s new in that it exists, but most don’t think of it as creative in the same way they naturally do with media creative) and sets up the next points that give some explanatory detail. Summary: This digital native creative form also presents the opportunity to employ interactive digital or digital services: software, data, and AI.

There are two reasons for this. First, this is particularly visible with themes that entail some amount of building to over time, or an accumulation of benefits that accrue over time from many linked actions over time. Note, this defines many meaningful themes (just let that rest I guess for the moment. These are often valuable because inherently they just don’t happen automatically.). Claim: The first reason, or the first part of the reason is where the audience member achieving the theme IAS in their real life entails some amount of building to over time, or a series of actions over time that add up or accrue to real benefit. Reason: This matters because it highlights that it is the particular dynamics in real life for the audience member that describes the situation when digital tech creative might be an opportunity for the creator (and the audience!). Link: This follows the last point adding the first of two points to develop it, and sets up the next point. Summary: The first reason there can be opportunity for digital services creative is if achieving the IAS in real life for the viewer entails steps that build over time.

Second, in that case it is not hard to see how digital services/interactive tooling could assist/enable/scaffold audience members in building to the IAS over time. Claim: When there is such a building of steps overtime in real life for the viewer, tech creative can be employed to assist/support/enable/scaffold, or help act and manage them over time in pursuit of achieving the IAS. Reason: This matters because the way the IAS is structured as a future achieved state and easily require consistent action over time that builds, and tech creative can then be a natural to enable and support it. Link: this adds to the last point and sets up the next one. Summary: Tech creative can be used to support and enable consistent actions over time that might be needed to achieve the IAS. It is a natural and obvious in this case and likely to be highly appreciated if it helps.

Traditional goods and service can also be employed to support the achievement of the IAS. Claim: This is obvious for incumbents that already have goods or services, but this is also and obvious extension for native creators if there are obvious goods or services that are needed or desired in achieving the IAS. Reason: This matters because this presents the logic as to why goods and services make sense to creators. This is a common understanding though unlike employing digital services, or tech, creative. But it is useful to see it on the same footing as satisfying the theme as we do with the media creative to build the audience and the possible tech creative too. Link: This adds to the last point and completes the points made in this subsection. Summary: Goods and services are more obvious to employ but can be thought of in similar terms to tech creative in satisfying the theme.

Section 4 –Functional Organization of Creative Production

Section 4 - Introduction Purpose: This section exists to address the conceptual question of the core elements necessary to engage in this kind of audience building presented in the concepts of roles and functions/actions. Context: The prior section presented the conceptual framing from the creator’s perspective on what theme theory (or, the core idea) means for them, and this section naturally follows to examine how it plays out in the actual production of creative. Focus: This section uses the mechanism of looking at the roles and actions in producing creative from the frame of an organization to help us see and examine the core elements, and it does this across scales from a solo creator all the way to a scaled, multi person organization with specialization. The core elements are conceptually the same and present across scales, and I use two examples – WWE and a16z to help present the concepts. Preview: The reader will come away understanding the conceptual elements involved in producing creative across team scales and how they are the necessary constituent elements in the process.

4.1 Creator as first-principles reference.

The case of the native solo creator gives us the frame to understand the core elements of this kind of creative production effort, which is different than pure entertainment efforts. Claim: We can use the native solo creator building audience based on giving value as a reference for all the fundamental elements of production to tell the meta story. We can see in the native solo creator all of the elements in a way that identifies the elements and in a way that is also recognizable because of the general familiarity with creators. This reference is operative at all scales. Reason: This matters because there are core requirements to tell the story that while there are similarities, there are important differences than with pure entertainment creative and advertising creative. Link: This is the deliberate starting point to present creative development and production in this creative form (this type of audience building) and sets up the next point which presents the elements. Summary: The case of the native solo creator who gives value gives us a comprehensive reference that works at all scales.

The key functions or efforts are: creative developer, creative producer, creative performer, and creative publisher and social presence and engagement. Claim: The key functions at all scales and that the solo creator does as a one man band are creative development, production, performer, publisher, and provides social presence and engagement. Reason: This matters because this presents the full set of creative functions that need to be fulfilled and therefore can all be seen in the case of the solo creator. Link: This builds on the last point to identify the functions and sets up the next series of points which discuss each function. Summary: The key functions are developer, producer, performer, publisher, and social presence and engagement.

Development requires a live player relative to the theme. Live players: a person or group that is adaptive, dynamic, and capable of doing things they have not done before. This describes the creator in ideating and developing creative ideas and material. The requirement is to be generative. Claim: Development requires a live player. It’s a new ‘ish term but captures something fundamental to creators – they need to be generative. The online definition is a person or group that is adaptive, dynamic, and capable of doing things they have not done before. This is the essence of what the creator has to do in ideating and developing creative ideas and material that can be produced. I could just say they have to be generative, but live player ends up making an important distinction when we look at this at scale. Reason: This matters because the creator has to prolifically generate new content and there is no way to do it but to be generative of constant ideas an material. Link: This point is the first of the functions to be described from the last point and sets up further explanation on this point in the next point. Summary: The development function of the solo creator requires that they be a live player when it comes to developing creative ideas and material that can be produced.

The essence of generation in “giving value” efforts are grounded in the creators understanding and knowledge in the (IAS) theme (relative to the viewers) and thus telling their TT meta-story. Claim: The creator has to be a live player when it comes to understanding and interpreting the IAS as a classic story structure guide role for the viewer protagonist. The essence of this is does the creator have passion and expertise in the theme and do they know interesting things about it, which is the basis for ideation, and do they have opinions on those things, which is the basis for material on those ideas.
Reason: This matters because there is an authenticity component to success here, and you can see that anyone that is is almost by definition a live player. To be good, the creator has to have the passion and expertise on the theme (derived from the value) and be generative in knowing interesting things about it and having the opinions. If they don’t or are not generative, they can’t fake it. If they do, they are strongly positioned to be interesting and in service to the audience as it relates to them and the theme. Link: This adds to the last point and is added to in the next point. Summary: The creator has to be a live player for generative development of creative with respect to the IAS form theme.

What the creator is generating as the product of development is material that can be produced. Claim: Since this is still more at the conceptual stage, I haven’t said much concretely about the creative itself. In this creative form based on posts and with the current most productive form of social media being short and medium form video, what the development process needs to generate is material that can be produced. You can see the leeway the solo creator has here in that the same mind will do the development and the performing and production. Reason: This matters because it helps to see that development does not by default mean a full script. It can, but in the prolific amount of production this form usually entails, even for the solo creator, that only needs to be enough for the solo creator themselves to produce. As a live player they have the ability to produce from what you might call a high level creative brief. Link: This adds to the last group of points and is wrapped in the next point. Summary: To generate producible material, the solo creator often only has to produce a high level creative brief.

The solo creator as developer is the live player generative development resource. Claim: In the case of the solo creator, they of course do all of the development themselves. Reason: This matters because it unequivocally establishes something very important about scale that we all know I think but it needs to be explicitly called out: Creative development at scale can be done by one person. We know this because it is done extensively. It can certainly take a lot of individual development, but no matter – this can be done by one person. And often that person even is running an entire business along side building audience. Link: This adds to the last two points and finishes for here the solo creator and development piece. Summary: The solo creator as developer is the live player generative development resources and shows that this can be done at the level of a single person from a resource perspective.

The solo creator is a one man band resource for the other roles: Producer, Performer, Publisher, and Social Presence and Engagement. Claim: The solo creator has to fulfill all the other functions in full as well. A good way to look at it though is that if the creator can generate prolific, or sufficient producible material then this facilitates all the other functions of performer, producer, publisher, and social presence and engagement. Reason: This matters because it establishes again the obvious that solo creators have to do everything but also some context on how that works. Link: This point follows the last group of points on development and being a live player on the theme and generative, and sets up the next point. Summary: The solo creator has to fulfill all of the other functions too outlined at the top of the subsection: producer, performer, publisher, and social presence and engagement.

That one person can perform the entire suite of roles is demonstrated by the many people doing it successfully. Claim: Okay – I made this point above and maybe it should be moved here or reiterated here. I’ll reiterate it now because it’s important. Before we move on to talking about creating at scale with a multi-person team, it is important to establish that we know this full set of functions can be done by one person at scale (daily production or more) from the evidence of it happening at scale as in the number of solo creators that do it. Reason: This matters to establish that the full creative effort can be done at scale by a solo creator. Link: This builds from the rest of the points in this subsection and sets up the next and final point of the subsection. Summary: A solo creator can perform the whole effort at scale and we know this because it already happens broadly.

The solo creator case is our reference case of what is needed in creative production in this kind of audience building. Claim: The solo creator is our reference case of this creative form, this kind of audience building because all of the fundamental elements are there and that one person can do it at scale is an important point to have established for the next subsection. Reason: This matters because that makes the solo creator a complete reference for operating in this creative form. We are using them as a discovery mechanism of the fundamental, necessary, and sufficient elements of producing creative in this creative form. Link: This wraps the points in this subsection and sets up then next where having established this solo creator reference case we look at the same functions performed by multiple people. Summary: Resolving the subsection, the solo creator’s case in this creative form provides a complete reference case of operating in the form.

4.2 Why scale demands specialization (serial-TV origins, writers’-room logic)

Looking at scaled version helps clarify the functions and roles further from solo creator case. Claim: Now we switch to looking at a scaled version of creative production with a multi-person team. Building off the last section assuming that the solo creator in this creative form provides a complete identification of the needed functions, projecting these to a multi-person scaled team will help us further establish what is distinct about this kind of audience building (working in this creative form with its success based criteria). Reason: This matters because this exercise is illuminating in identifying and understanding clearly – demystifying – the particular fundamentals of operating successfully in this creative form. Link: This is the first point of the subsection and it builds from what was covered in the last subsection. Summary: Looking at a multi-person scaled version helps to further understand the fundamental elements of creative production in this creative form.

Success or magnitude of parent organization means a scaled effort Claim: Looking at this scaled up version not only helps us understand the structure and organization of producing in this creative form, in actually does just fine at presenting the actual structure and organization of a scaled up multi-person team. Reason: This matters because this is not just a conceptual exercise to understand the fundamentals of the form, which is important, it is actually presents completely useful information on how to organize a fully scaled up multi-person team effort, which is also of course really useful. Two birds with one stone. Link: This complements the prior point to say that this not only helps illuminate concepts, in the exercise we’re doing here, it also is completely viable information on the structure and organization of a scaled up effort. This sets up the next point where we transition to an admittedly playful example with the WWE. Summary: An audience building effort that becomes successful or has larger resources will likely properly scale in team size. This exercise also provides useable guidance on the core structure and organization of such a scaled team.

Scaling this to a large scale, multi person team forces us to project the reference case to a multi person team case, and we’ll use an example next before proceeding. Claim: As stated, projecting the solo creator reference case to a multi person scaled team helps us see with clarity the functions and roles. In the next subsection I will use an admittedly playful example of the WWE. Reason: This matters because the WWE is pure entertainment and not TT type giving value audience building. However, they are an interesting non-typical scaled media organization that is covered extensively so we know a lot about it. It will be useful to provide this as and example and then the contrast to giving value audience building will help demystify it. Link: This builds on the last two points of this subsection and sets up the next subsection as a transition. Summary: Projecting the solo creator reference case to a multi-person team illuminates more deeply and clearly the elements of creative production in this form. We’ll first look at a non-traditional pure entertainment example to both build off of and contrast with.

4.3 WWE – a comprehensible at scale example, starting with pure entertainment.

Why this example? Claim: WWE provides a good reference for a scaled up media organization that earns its keep through their built audience. It is an admittedly playful example. It is somewhat non-traditional in that it’s not a pure serial tv show, or social media account, or digital media account, etc. I chose it because it actually gives an obvious identification of the elements of the organization and structure to produce the creative. So, that it is a bit outsized is not a problem but a help that makes some parts more obvious. Reason: This matters to present why I am using this example and why I’m not and to set up that there is some specific pattern matching that will be useful and some that will actually provide a useful contrast and not a pattern match. Link: This point introduces the subsection and sets up the next point of a quick overview of the WWE media operations. Summary: I am using this sort of outsized and clearly playful example because it makes some certain things clear to pattern match on and others equally clear to use as a contrast to the difference in giving value audience building.

Quick Overview of Operations and Scale and similarities to TT media creators Claim: .A quick overview from online: “WWE is a global media organization that produces and distributes content across various platforms, including television, its streaming service, digital media, and social media. Its content is seen by over 1 billion households worldwide through partnerships with broadcasters like NBCUniversal and networks such as Netflix and ESPN. WWE also has a strong online presence with its official app and massive social media following.” Reason: This matters just to set up the context of WWE as a media organization. They are anchored in more traditional media, or came from it, but they cross many mediums including digital, streaming, and social media and live events. They produce creative at prolifically at scale creating similar demands to our solo creator, just with much more produced and complicated creative Link: This follows the last intro point and sets up the next point on further contrasts of WWE with TT giving value audience building. Summary: WWE is a larger somewhat non-typical media organization that has some similarities with even solo creators in the need to prolifically produce content in multiple forms.

Pure entertainment as opposed to giving value. We will use this contrast to help make the giving value case more clear. Claim: WWE provides a good reference to a scaled up media organization. It is admittedly a playful example. One clear difference between WWE and giving value creators is that WWE is pure entertainment media. Reason: This matters because this contrast will actually help us see what is different with giving value media creation. Pure entertainment is likely much more familiar and established in the minds of the reader, and presenting this to compare and contrast to should be helpful. Link: This point follows the last which showed some similarities with giving value creators and following it with a fundamental contrast sets us up to look at the WWE media organization to see there are a lot of fundamentals in common we can pattern match to and key contrasts that show the distinctness of this giving value creative form. Summary: WWE is pure entertainment media, and this is a key difference between giving value media as we will see how this contrast plays out in the rest of the subsection.

Meta story. Claim: WWE is pure entertainment creative, but you could say, and they might, I don’t know, that they have a meta story: it is human drama as played out in the setting or universe of a major, popular sports entertainment professional wrestling league. They aim to be interesting by the ongoing actions and events of that league. Reason: This matters because this allows WWE to provide an example of an ongoing audience building effort organized around a meta story. It is a pure entertainment meta story, but it is one nonetheless and thus it is similar to giving value audience building efforts in that regard. Link: This is the first in a series of points on the elements of the media organization for WWE and sets up the next point of a writers’ room. Summary: WWE as an ongoing audience building effort is grounded in a meta-story, which is the human drama in the context or setting of a major popular sports entertainment professional wrestling league.

Writers’ Room Claim: Writers’ rooms emerged in the 1950s as a response to the high demand of serial television production. It is a collection of a team of writers to deal with that load and to maintain narrative consistency by ensuring the overarching story, character development, and themes were cohesive across multiple episodes and seasons. WWE has a writers room to deal with the production load of all of their shows and events and is the creative hub where WWE's storylines, character arcs, and match outcomes are developed by a team of writers, producers, and executives. As a centralized hub they guarantee narrative continuity across all of the media produced by WWE. They essentially develop all of the creative to be produced. The whole effort is grounded in the ongoing meta story of human drama in the context of a sports entertainment professional wrestling league. Reason: This matters because this gives us a clear look at how media organizations with larger production loads of creative that tell stories across all the media operate. The writers’ room organization is fundamental. Link: This builds on the WWE meta story point by showing the WWE writers room serves to tell the WWE meta story. Summary: The WWE writers room tells the (a?) WWE meta story and therefore is responsible for generating the character arcs and storylines and producible show scripts and the narrative consistency to continually play it all out (tell the meta story).

Characters Claim: WWE has characters that are the performers in this pure entertainment creative. The characters are the ones that exist in the WWE meta story – primarily wrestlers, but also announcers, referees, interviewers, managers, and authority figures. The act out the storylines and character arcs that make up the telling of the ongoing meta story. Reason: This matters because it is the characters who are the ones performing in the creative that is developed by the writers in the writers’ room. Link: This further develops the parts and organization of the WWE media organization as will the next point. Summary: WWE has characters who are the people who perform in the creative – primarily the wrestlers who are the basis for the meta story.

Production Claim: The WWE is grounded in spectacular high production values live wrestling events as the basis for shows. They have a sophisticated production team. Also, the performers in the creative are the characters from the last point. Anyone on the WWE side that performs or presents is a WWE character. Because of their use of live events, the (an) audience is also physically present to show. The production is the actual telling of the meta story translated into publishable creative. Reason: This matters because the WWE example presents a high production values, complex, and expensive production operation, which is more common in scaled up pure entertainment media. But not strictly necessary in giving value media. Link: This adds to the last set of points on the meta story, writers’ room, and characters. This sets up the next point on talent (performers) training and development. Summary: The WWE has an expensive and high production value production team. The performers are all of the characters. The production turns the telling of the meta story into publishable media creative.

Talent Training and Development Claim: Talent in this case is primarily the characters, who are the performers in the creative, and as noted before are largely the wrestlers. They are the vehicle that the audience connects with an is most responsible for attraction attention. The goal is to have them be able to perform the storylines and character arcs to keep the meta story moving. To do that WWE develops talent in the context of wrestling and wrestling performance itself, but also in successfully performing as their character themselves to play out the character arcs and storylines. However, ultimately much of the load of attracting audience falls on how compelling the character’s and performers are to the actual audience. (developing newbies and proven draws …) Reason: This matters because ultimately the audience judges who the biggest draws are – which characters/performers are ultimately compelling enough to carry the load of the needed scale of audience to make WWE successful, which is significant. This can not be dictated. So, WWE has a portfolio approach of a set of wrestlers that they continually create, nurture, and develop in a talent development process making bets that will hopefully give them the continual set of stars they need. This requires a talent pipeline and constant refresh and development. Link: This adds to the last points of the meta story, writers’ room, characters, and production. This sets up one additional talent development point made next. Summary: Due to the non-deterministic nature of having proven star power in their characters, WWE develops and refreshes talent constantly and it is a core function of their media/audience success.

Non Main Event Creative Media Training: Claim: In addition to the actual wrestling events which is the heart of the wrestler’s as characters performance, all of the wrestlers and other characters appear outside of that specific setting both within and without WWE productions. For instance, interviews in WWE productions or outside of it like in a podcast or representing WWE at some popular non-WWE event. WWE provides media training to all the characters in performing and behaving in these environment in support of the WWE and their parts in the WWE meta-story. Reason: This matters because there is significant appearance in media outside the ring, both in WWE productions and outside of it. In these cases they still are representing the WWE and still responsible for supporting and furthering the meta story and their part in it. This takes training like media training just like the core performances because if this gets attention and reach and any such appearances harm or damage the meta story that is at cross purposes with the whole media effort. Link: This finishes the list of elements and parts giving an overview of the WWE media organization Summary: The non main event media training is an important part of supporting and moving forward the meta story and it is trained for also.

Subsection Summary Claim: This gives us an additional reference media organization to use along with the solo creator to help us project the giving value media organization to a multi-person team scale to clarify its elements and organization. Reason: This matters because this is a good, recognizable but not completely traditional media organization at scale with a meta story to see what the elements/parts/organization looks like. It’s a bit of a playful example, but makes some of those roles and elements of the organization obvious that we’ll look at in the next subsection like a writers’ room, and performers, and talent development. It’s a different category of media as pure entertainment, but our familiarity with that traditional category will help and then it will help us see where giving value in this new creative form is different too. Link: This wraps the points in this subsection in a summary, which can also probably be used as the intro to this section for what it is supposed to fulfill. It sets up the next subsection on the functional organization of the giving value media organization at scale. Summary: The WWE example gives us a good reference in a few ways. First, it’s a bit playful so no one is likely to take it so seriously as to be prescriptive. Everyone will have some objective perspective of it. It is familiar and scaled so that we can see the parts clearly. It is also pure entertainment which will allow us to see the giving value differences clearly.

4.4 Transferring—not transplanting—the model to giving value

Now we will look at the giving value scaled media organization both to let us examine and see the nature of giving value audience building itself to better understand it and at the same time do that through an actual potential organizational model for this kind of media organization at scale. We have developed the solo creator’s example and the WWE as a reference example to use to refer to in identifying the key elements of giving value type media production, or how the creative form operates at scale with the aim of success.

Overview – creative production at scale and the demands that places on production and organization drive the organizational form and roles.
Claim: The solo creator can do it, but what happens when scale dictates a multi-person team? There is some specialization and some re-composition of roles, and we can refer to both the solo creator operating in the giving value form and the WWE example to help show this. But the driving force of this example is increasing production demands in both frequency and any additional sophistication in the creative to be produced – all for effect for success in audience size and success. Reason: This matters because the demands of the scale of production are the main driver of the organizational form and roles. We’re simply asserting the need for a scaled up organization. The point here is not strictly when that’s necessary, but it will be and is in many cases. Looking at this example helps us frame how we’ll use what we’ve developed and set up so far in the two reference examples to assist in presenting this. Link: This follows the two examples developed for reference and sets up the particular points to fulfill the point of this subsection. Summary: The demand of the scale of production, and the sophistication of that production, which can increase as scale and scale of resources are earned by audience scale success, are the main drivers of the giving values organizational form and its roles.

Writers’ Room – what it does and produces. Claim: Given scale and a multi-person team, a writers’ room is the natural focus of the process in the form of creative development allowing both collaboration on development and developing multiple pieces at a time to achieve constant production, which at this scale is likely daily or more. The WWE example is instructive here for the conceptual need, although the actual creative developed will be much less involved or complex. This is clearly one of the major differences to the solo creator. It is the natural owner that producible creative gets developed to keep the show going. Reason: This matters as it is one of the necessary major adaptations to scale. This takes the executive function of owning development generation needs are met and that development is quality and can enable success. Link: This is the first point made on organization, and it is the hub of the media organization. This sets up the further points fleshing out the organization given this. Summary: The development function is broken out to a writers’ room and it has the primary executive function for production and is the hub of the giving value media organization.

Inherited Meta Story and Goals (Success Criteria): Claim: Here the WWE example is good for similarity and contrast. The giving value writers’ room absolutely works under a meta-story that already exists (as it is a singular theme that derives from the value, which already exists), but that theme and meta-story is an IAS form theme which leads to many key differences presented below. There is also the modified success criteria for the writers’ room. Reason: This matters because the giving value writers’ room is the executive head and hub of the media organization, and it absolutely operates to satisfy or tell a meta story, but it is a different kind of meta story due to the IAS form theme. Link: This builds on and adds a key distinction to the last point and sets up the next on live IAS players. Summary: The writers’ room is similar to the WWE example in that it tells a meta story, but different in that it is a giving value IAS theme meta story, and it has updated success criteria (detailed in Section 1.3).

Live players with passion and expertise in the theme are key to quality ideas and material generation, and now they are not automatically present in the writers’ room. Claim: The fact the solo creator could do all of this alone is because they must have passion and expertise in the IAS and be a live player with regard to it. The writer does not necessarily have that but it is the critical ingredient to making interesting creative that satisfies the theme. Reason: This matters because it shows us something the media organization needs to solve for and that is different than pure entertainment media where the writers by definition are live players in their story. Link: This further develops the last point by identifying new importance of IAS live players and sets up the next point in how to deal with it. Summary: Live players with passion and expertise in the theme are the source of idea and material development, but writers in this media organization often won’t have that understanding.

Live players with IAS understanding and writers are now two separate groups with default not full overlap. This helps us see specific roles and organization to integrate or connect them. Claim: The solo creator had both of these roles in her head. Now they can fall across people. The writers’ room inherits the executive function of the development process and responsibility for its results, but might lack live IAS player ability. Live IAS player ability (as opposed to creative development ability) must exist in the org for the giving value media organization to work. Imagine the case of the solo creator not having it: she wouldn’t be successful. No different here. Live players need to be identified (they should not be hard to find, they will be leaders of some sort), and writers need some necessary set of them and their time to feed development. Live players time is at a premium so writers own the results and organize this integration thus minimizing the potential time needed from live players. Live IAS players are generative on the understanding of the theme. Writers are live players on the domain of creative development. Reason: This matters because this is a fundamental organizational feature of giving value media organization at multi person team scale. This differs from pure entertainment creative where both roles are in the writer’s themselves. Link: This follows the last point and giving the solution to the problem it raised. It brings up then next related point on performers. Summary: Live IAS players and writers will often be different people but both’s expertise still necessary. The writers own the responsibility for results and organize the integration to ensure needed knowledge transfer while minimizing load on live IAS players.

This also lets us see that performers are most likely to be separate from the writers, but shows us another role. Claim: In seeing the live IAS player and writer split, we can see that there is also likely a performer and writer split. These were also obviously combined in the solo creator and we will have to deal with that organizationally too. Reason: This matters because the writers are the executive function and hub of development and would otherwise make sense as performers because of having that integrated knowledge. However, they will often be separate roles in a scaled giving value medial organization. Link: This follows the last two points but with performers instead of live players. It sets up the next point of how to deal with this organizationally. Summary: In the scaled up example, performers will mostly be different people from writers and the organizational structure needs to account for that.

In this creative form, for authenticity and compelling performances, the ideal is for the performers to be authentic live players with respect to the IAS. Claim: In this creative form, authenticity in performances are fundamental to them being believable without which they can’t be compelling. Therefore, the performers may often have to be live IAS players to fulfill that need. Perhaps a good operator but not yet at the level of an IAS live player may be able to perform the role. The proof is in the pudding. Likewise, you could see tapping other creators/influencers in the milieu you think are talented. You would likely want them exclusively representing your org whether that means bringing them in-house or otherwise. Reason: This matters because it shows that performers might need to be IAS live players. We’ll see this is natural in the 16z example. Link: This follows and provides an answer to the last point and with the other points on roles given so far sets up the next point. Summary: Do ensure the critical requirements of authenticity and compelling performances, performers will often have to be live IAS players. You could see tapping other creators in the milieu you respect as potential performers.

Maximum overlap in roles is a best case, but may not be practical. Yet the show must go on and the organization needs to operate well enough to produce compelling creative enough to achieve success. If that can be done with less overlap, then it works. If too little overlap is a hindrance to success, then it may be imperative in roles and organization. The solo creator could do this because everything was in one person’s head and integration hurdles minimized. Claim: You can see maximum overlap in roles is an ideal case that replicates what is so powerful and enabling to a solo creator. The most likely combination is IAS live players as performers. This would off load much of the most time consuming development work while maximizing their time in where it is most needed. Live IAS players are likely to be a most scarce resource. While writers don’t grow on trees, there is a broad pool to potentially source from externally. Regardless, if the talent is there, you could see how total overlap and still multiple people of that type would be a dream. Reason: This matters because while not likely possible, the more overlap in roles you have obviously the more desirable the situation. Link: This builds on the last several role points and sets us up to revisit the implications of all of it on the organization. Summary: Overlap in roles, particularly the more each of the other roles is also a live IAS player, the better, but that is likely to always be less than you’d want.

In this context, the writers’ room owns responsibility for generating producible material that the performers and production can produce. They are the engine that makes the process go. Claim: Given the need for the performers to be IAS live players or similar, their needs of the detail level of the material developed is lessened. They own the responsibility to keep developed, producible material flowing to support consistent posting, but it is important to realize the nature of the performers change the requirements of the material in an important way. Longer forms like a podcast would likely tap the generative nature of the performer while much of the content needed would be short or medium length video, which is less demanding than say a WWE event script. Reason: This matters because it could update the throughput of development because they do not need to produce elaborate scripted material for actors playing a role they don’t understand themselves. Link: This builds on the last few points on overlap in roles and who that impacts (positively, I think) the demands on the writers’ room. Summary: The writers’ room generates producible material but since performers are often IAS live players, the demands on the detail of that material is effectively lessened.

The inherited theme and it not being pure entertainment but IAS is a major factor in what the writers need to produce an for whom. Claim: The meta story being based on an IAS form theme also leads to different creative to develop both in concept and who they are writing for from a storytelling perspective. Reason: This matters because writers’ rooms are almost universally thought of in a pure entertainment context. There are key differences here to identify. Link: This follows the last point on the level of material that needs to be publishes and sets up a series of points on the actual differences in what material is developed. Summary: Writers’ rooms are almost exclusively discussed in a pure entertainment context. This is a different category of giving value creative as distinct from pure entertainment.

Writing for Audience as Protagonist: Claim: The first major difference is that the audience is the protagonist. Generally for production complexity and cost you won’t have audience as your main performers. The a16z example will provide a good example of this. I won’t develop this much here, but UGC provides ample opportunity to present the audience – the protagonist, but you can only write for them at a remove. Reason: This matters because writer’s working in the pure entertainment category are writing for a full set of characters: protagonists, antagonists, etc., etc. Here generally the protagonist is the audience and not directly available as a performer. Link: This develops the ramifications of the last point – the first in a few points on it. So, this leads to the next point in the series. Summary: The audience is the protagonist and generally not available as a direct performer in the creative.

Writing for Performers as Guides: Claim: The main character and often the only character that the writers can write for is the guide. There is still completely rich terrain here, and this is the basis for generating demand for the business or endeavor in the form of awareness, consideration, and preference as presented in section 1.3, but it is generally a different central character being written for than with pure entertainment. Reason: This matters because this is the main character in the creative generally in this kind of media. This is a different kind of writing that pure entertainment creative. Link: This continues to build on the points in this series and the next point adds to it. Summary: The performer the writer’s are writing for is the guide, not the protagonist.

Narrative Continuity is to Theme not serial posts Claim: The critical role of the writers in maintaining narrative continuity is also different in this form. Continuity in pure entertainment is often serial from creative from creative. In this form it is simply with relevance to the theme itself as presented in sections 1.2 and 3.2. Reason: This matters because this is a relaxing of a major constraint facing other media organizations. Link: This adds to the last series of points and finishes it. The next now makes well set up to discuss on talent development and training. Summary: Narrative continuity is important in this creative form, but it is to the theme itself rather than serially, and this is impacts what the writers can develop.

Talent Development and Training Claim: Assuming bias toward live players on the IAS, that does not mean they are skilled at performing. In this non pure entertainment creative form, the primary need for acting skill is replaced by being a live IAS player, or rather someone with true expertise in the subject matter of the IAS. That is way I say the most effective performer with be someone who is a live player on the IAS. The a16z example below will give a coherent basic example of this. In a scaled up giving value media organization, the performer will often be a live player in the IAS, but as a performer will need media training and performer training in whatever medium is employed by the organization. For instance, performing in a short video or being the focus of an interview or a podcast. Reason: This matters because the importance of being a live player on the IAS theme does not mean that person has developed the skills to be a good performer. Media training and performer training becomes a fundamental function of this kind of media organization. Link: This builds from the prior points on the performer role and sets up the next point on talent development on the organizational level. Summary: Performers in the scaled up giving value media org, ideally being live players on the IAS, need thorough media training and performance development. This is a fundamental function of this kind of media organization.

Talent development pipeline – you never know who will hit and you need to develop a pipeline so that you end up with compelling performers to at least cross the line for the whole effort to be viable, and ideally much more. Claim: Like the WWE example, you can’t predict who will become stars and big draws, so you have to continually develop talent like in a pipeline to discover them. Regardless, most can be made competent, and those that are not a fit for performing will be discovered also. There are two main places to source from. One, and what should be the first option, is within the organization itself. The other is in the larger universe or milieu of the IAS theme. If there is other talent out there that can draw audience, or already has one, and they can be a fit for your organization, that is a wide open option as well. The a16z example below presents basic examples of both. Reason: This matters because one undoubted driver of success is having the digital media equivalent in your theme milieu of star power. The ideal is to have highly compelling performers that become or are big draws. This can’t be deterministically manufactured and therefore you need a development pipeline, especially because the most efficient talent pool to draw from are live players on the IAS is within the organization itself if they are there. Link: This adds to the last point and the next point adds to this and the prior point on talent development Summary: Especially because of the indeterminant nature of finding highly compelling performers (stars) the scaled up media organization needs a pipeline approach to development.

Non primary produced media training. Claim: Much like characters in the WWE, anytime someone is representing the organization in public and/or on any media – like social media, they can harm or hinder or further and support the meta story. Anyone that is a “character” like with WWE in this way needs media training and some kind of monitoring for how it relates to success. For instance, being an authentic presence on twitter under their own account, or going on someone else’s podcast. Reason: This matters because any time a performer is public and gets attention, it can hinder or harm, or facilitate or boost the message that is the meta story on the IAS theme. Link: This wraps a set of points on talent development and sets up the next point which gets to production. Summary: Performers need media training for the times they are performing, but not in the primary produced media of their org, whether other internal media, their own accounts, others media, or external events, etc.

Production Claim: This kind of media can be and tends to be idea driven, and thus a default of very basic production values can work. We know this from the solo giving value creator example. However, in a more scaled up media org with greater audience scale expectations and results/returns that justify investing in production, production values can become more sophisticated and expensive. Regardless, in a scaled up organization, the production team needs to be able to produce with fidelity the developed material and facilitate good performances from the performers. They need to make sure the effort of production is contained in their org and not put on the performers outside of their effort to perform well. Reason: This matters because production needs to produce quality creative and facilitate the other talent and not put an undue load on it. If it doesn’t do this it can hinder or harm the potential success of the media org. Link: This follows on the last sections on talent and talent development and precedes the next point on publishing and social presence and engagement. Summary: The production function serves the material developers and the talent and in a scaled up organization is a specialized group that if they do not perform at a high level can harm or hinder the pursuit of success.

Publishing, Presence, and Engagement Claim: Finally, the publishing of the creative is simply the actual posting which should be handled by organization accounts. This is a traditional social team, and they should also be an ambient presence on the accounts for general responses and engagement outside of what should be done by performers/talent. They should not present as being the talent. Also, this team should also handle what would be traditional PR functions for the media org but on social. Reason: This matters because this is the actual deployment of creative and it is on accounts that are live and even if the assumption is that the performers are not generally present on it, the assumption is that someone representing the org is. Link: This follows the production point and is the last point of this subsection outside of a summary. Summary: Publishing and general account presence are necessary if generally support roles and have to be performed well so as not to detract from the meta story.

Summary Claim: [What was the purpose of this subsection? To better see the roles and functions in scaled giving value media organization employing specialization. How it relates or is a projection of the solo creator where all of this is done by one person, which is interesting to see the scope from one to many.] Reason: Link: Summary:

4.5 a16z – A TT Fitting New Media Operation Example

a16z media as a scaled, specialized giving value media organization example. Claim: a16z media is familiar to many as they are large scale in this space with ambitions to develop and scale up further to daily material video pieces. This is also a bit of a playful example. They are widely recognized, and are big enough and prominent enough to have both fans and detractors. They sit at the cross roads of larger social and political issues and therefore can’t really avoid them, which is a pressure most giving value media orgs likely won’t face, but it interesting to examine. This is actually helpful in seeing how a value giving media organization might handle such stresses and challenges from an organizational and personnel standpoint. Reason: This matters because it is a good representative example of a giving value media organization operating at scale and that has employed specialization. Many will be familiar with the live players and the performers specifically and how this plays out in standard media creative formats where a certain level of success and scale have been achieved. It’s a rich example to work with. Link: This follows the last subsection that lays out the general understanding of such a giving value media organization and sets up the detailed examination points of this example. Summary: a16z presents a good giving value media organization example that has scaled and specialized.

Update Recent Effort – plans to scale Claim: I am writing this they made some organizational moves and publicly explained their intentions around media. They brought in Erik Torenberg as a partner. He had a stable of podcasts he was developing as a new media organization and did venture investing as well. They have recently stated that they plan to publish podcasts, which appear to all be video based too, and their newsletter daily on weekdays, for starters. They have made several hires and announced them publicly showing the buildout of their media organization. They moved to the Substack platform (they are an investor) and also wrote about their new media organization in a post, here: What is New Media? Reason: This matters just to establish the scale and ambitions to show how it fits the scaled, specialized value giving organization. Link: This adds to the prior point by describing current developments in their media organization that are relevant to presenting them as an example, Summary: They have always had a vibrant direct audience building media effort, but also what makes them a good example is how they’ve continued to develop, particularly recently which can be seen in what they publish, which includes explaining their aims with their media organization.

This is not a comprehensive breakdown of their media operations. This is an explanation of their media operations from the frame of theme theory. Claim: This is not a comprehensive breakdown of their media operations. This is an explanation of their media operations from the frame of theme theory, which is my developed idea about this and of course in no way specifically how they think about their operations. But to the extent TT captures something that has fidelity with reality, since they are successful TT should fit nicely with how they organize and operate. Reason: This matters because what I write next is not meant to be a comprehensive analysis of their media operations and I don’t want to set that expectation. It is how their media operation accords with the theme theory IAS theme meta story frame and how in relates to media organization and operations. Link: This follows the last point with a qualifier to the rest of the material that follows. Summary: This is not a standard comprehensive analysis of their media operations and organization. It is an example of looking at it through the frame/lens of theme theory.

Implied a16z Theme for Meta Story Claim: The first step is to identify their value and their theme. I’ll take the following from their What is New Media? piece this statement as a general assumption of their value: “As a founder, what would you want from your VC - whose purpose is to give you power and legitimacy - to navigate media today?”. The primary value of VCs to founders is funding. They make a general statement that is clarifying here too: to provide power and legitimacy. And, what would be the ideal outcome for the protagonist – the audience of founders, potential founders, and those that are interested in them? “The end goal of Venture doesn’t change: to help founders build generational businesses.” So, their meta story is for more generational new business being built. That is the IAS form theme of the meta story. For any piece of creative, it simply needs to be relevant or related to that theme. You can see their theme funnel – the idea of which was presented in section 3.4, and their audience and audience health from that strategic frame. You can see how this would create demand gen for their firm, making them a desired parter for founders. You can see how this is a open ended idealized achieved state. You can see all of theme theory in terms of the three success criteria. Reason: This matters because is shows how TT easily fits their operations and organization and hopefully means the core idea of TT captures reality as it relates to this type of audience building. It is straight forward to identify their value and derive their theme and therefore the meta story. Link: This follows the prior points giving context on their media operation and the detail points by identifying their meta story and sets up the next point on live players. Summary: I would identify their meta story theme as make more founders building generational companies happen. It’s interesting that it cleanly presents as a field of play they are players on.

Live Players Claim: Live players on the IAS are actually central to their business model, and publicly obvious and present, which is part of why this is a good example. They make a point of being not just financiers, but prior operators in venture backed firms and that therefore they understand what new founders need and go through. This is a perfect concrete example of what I mean by a live player on the IAS theme. That’s it. I will just call out some of the most obvious that are present. Andreessen, Horowitz, and Katherine Boyle are the most prominent in recent months, and several more from the last few years and still more who are kind of withing their investment category. They clearly are responsible or generators of many prominent topics and storylines. Reason: This matters just to establish there are live IAS players at the firm and they are publicly such and familiar. Link: This builds on the last point of the meta story and identifies one of the key roles and sets up the next point on performers. Summary: There are several live players present and familiar there and they clearly drive major topics and storylines.

Performers Claim: Their biggest stars or draws are clearly their biggest live players – Andreesen and Horowitz specifically. This is currently and they have many more performers, but none currently as large. Reason: This matters just to establish the link between live players and top draws and why that may be so. There is no sense that they are playing roles they don’t authentically inhabit, and their live player-ness is clearly fundamental to them being so interesting – many people want to hear what they have to say. Link: This follows the point on live players and now sets up the progression of points to cover the writers’ room concept. Summary: They have many performers but the impact of live players on how interesting and compelling can be seen in their relative success.

Writers’ Room Claim: They don’t use this term but the function as I use it in relation to work product is clearly operative. They are producing a significant video per day now it seems, and given the polish of their creative the material is clearly developed for quality production. There performers, are generally partners, and so are live players and come with topics and opinions in depth and therefore the threshold for producible material is lower than would otherwise need to be – fleshed out thoroughly at the conceptual level is likely sufficient. The new addition of Erik Torenberg puts a public face on this function though. He is clearly a moderator and emcee across many prominent pieces of creative. But, they term it editorial, but there is clearly a larger function in the background responsible for development and producible material generation and it clearly features live IAS players who are often the performers. In addition, there is clearly a load presented in ensuring all creative is relevant or related to the theme, which a central group needs to own when operating at this scale. Reason: This matters because, especially given their increased production, there is clearly a group that is performing this function even if it is not a public and obvious as their live players and performers are. Link: This continues to build on the prior points on roles and sets up the next point on talent development and discovery. Summary: They clearly have a group performing what I frame as a writers’ room function, although it is not a publicly presented.

Talent Development & Discovery Claim: In their What is New Media? post, they present the following point about their effort and that it has, “An ecosystem of “next up” high signal talent, ready to attach to great up-and-coming stories”. Seeing the outsized draw of their top talent/performers and their scaling plans, they do need a pipeline and internally they have many live players to work with. What development then calls for is media/performance training. They would benefit from developing and discovering as many big draws as possible. Reason: This matters because both the need and their highlighting of it show they implement development and discovery as a key part of their media organization. And, it is obvious that it is non-deterministic. They have a lot of viable performers but only a few outsized stars. Link: This follows the points on performers and live players and sets up the next point on collaborating with external talent. Summary: Talent development and discovery is a fundamental part of their media organization and is observable from their stable of performers and public statements.

Extending to External Players in the Universe/Milieu Claim: To be interesting in the context of the meta story it also is available to them to collaborate with other interesting, big draws from the extended universe of the meta story, which you could also call their milieu. They pull in highly interesting guests and founders to interview and speak on topics. They have the performers to host such media and the ability to land them. Since they touch on broad industries in addition to their VC core, like AI, media, consumer tech, crypto, bio, etc., etc., it can make sense to pull in any prominent and interesting figure that people want to hear what they have to say. Reason: This matters because it shows how a competent giving value media organization can use their draw to collaborate with other interesting figures that relate to or are directly relevant in the meta story. Link: This follows the last point on talent development with the point that they can supplement with talent outside the organization too, and leads to the summary of the subsection. Summary: Talent can also be collaborated with too that is outside the organization but you can see as in the universe of the meta story.

Meeting Objectives and Scaling: Claim: They have clear value that they have to give and it translates directly to a clear meta story, which is not how they frame it specifically, but if fits naturally to what they do say they are doing and why. You can see how this enables achieving the three success criteria. From that you can see how a scaled, multi-person, giving value media organization that has specialized operates, and if fits naturally with the last subsections examination of it. Reason: This matters because it shows how this example fulfills the purpose of showing how the scaled organization is organized. A16z provides an easy example of this with the full and clear context of a value giving audience building operation and their derived meta story and what success means. Link: This summarizes the subsection and sets up the next subsection of an additional example of the Stylist’s Summary:

4.6 An Example of a Personal (Fashion) Stylist

This is a stub. Just give a quick overview and what this enables showing that hasn’t been shown yet – software, data, and AI, while still showing digital media in one of the most saturated theme spaces and also providing opportunity for commercial goods and services. It also from my personal experience and I understand the example thoroughly. Claim: I have an example of a personal (fashion) stylists the works from the starting point of a solo creator and can hypothetically scale to a large organization that is attention first, but also can make full use of tech creative (software, data, and AI) and commercial products and services. I have already written it up extensively in the working material of the corpus. This example comes from my personal and professional experience of my family’s women’s apparel boutique that sold merchandise primarily through the provision of styling services, which were not charged for. Reason: This matters because it is the actual real life example that I used for scaffolding for the idea of TT. I am intimately familiar with it and can present it across all facets and all creative types as mentioned. I present this here just to call it out and that I have this to follow up on in subsequent posts. It is also extensively written up in the working material of the corpus, which is available to the reader. Link: This follows three other examples already presented and adds one with additional features to present – particularly tech creative and commercial products and services. Summary: I have an additional comprehensive example to provide from personal experience – a personal fashion stylists building an audience to drive her business.

Part III – What to Build

Part III - Introduction Purpose: Part III exists to walk though the implications of the core idea as it relates to what to build, both in the micro, as in individual pieces of creative, and in the macro, as in audience building efforts and the universe of them. Context: Part III follows Part II, which presents the core idea that sets up this section to follow through what that means for the actual effort of building audience based on giving value to drive a business or endeavor. Focus: Much like Part II, the mechanism here simply requires following well understood concepts like storytelling, to follow the implications of the core idea as it leads to making creative. However, surprisingly, those same concepts present the opportunity for not only making media creative, but if you are familiar with the domain, it is clear it does the same in cases for tech creative: software, data, and AI, and also commercial products and services too. Preview: The reader will come away with an understanding of the full set of applications of the core idea. Part III introduces the scope of opportunities for application and is meant to set expectations for the reader into all the things that should be treated or written about to fulfill the promise of the core idea presented. So, it sets the table for the purpose of the Substack account, which I am setting up as a place to do that.

Section 5 – What to Build: Artifacts & Production

Section 5 - Introduction Purpose: This section exists to address the question of what all this means when you get to the actual production of the creative artifacts to build, hold, and engage audience in this kind of audience building. Context: This follows the completed Part II, which walked through the core idea, conceptually what it means for creators in building, holding, and engaging audience in this kind of audience building, and then conceptually what the elements are in producing creative. That sets up this section on the addressing the challenge of producing the actual creative artifacts themselves. Focus: What this section will do is to identify and provide an overview for each area of creative. Yes, there is more than just digital media creative: there is also digital tech creative in the form of software, data, and AI, and commercial products and services which are conceptually creative too. These subjects are rich, and to actually treat them would be a long paper in itself. So, this section frames and presents them to give an indication of what is there for each to set expectation for what can and should be examined or written up on this going forward. The idea is to do that in subsequent posts on substack, and honestly in the best of ways that could be done in perpetuity. Preview: The reader will come away understanding that there are three major classes of creative artifacts that can be employed in many cases in this kind of audience building: not just digital media creative, but also tech creative in the form of software, data, and AI, but also commercial products and services – all of which can be employed to satisfy the theme just like we imagine with digital media creative like social media video.

5.1 WTB: Digital Media

This is meant to frame this up and set expectations for what to write on next. I have already written about this in the corpus, so can be loaded in an LLM’s context and the idea worked out, but not fit for a published essay. I have also fully developed the stylist’s example in detail in the same way. Claim: (take above in full) Reason: This matters because I am not going to expand on this in full here. This is like the material I want to treat with the Substack. I have already worked out the basis of this material but it was in early versions of writing up the idea. But, I did treat them in full and have already written this material. I just need to write them fit to be published like on Substack. I have also worked out a full example with the Stylist’s example. The earlier writeups have full fidelity with everything in this paper and actually as context for an LLM may already let people load all of this into an LLMs context and it could likely present these ideas in a sufficient way, so the corpus is on the substack site. People can go look at that raw material too, but can absolutely load it into their LLM of choice too. Link: This frames what the purpose of this subsection is – what it covers and what it doesn’t. It’s a preview of sorts. It sets up the next few points which elaborate to provide a bit of a preview and to set the readers expectations of what can follow from this paper/idea. Summary: This frames this subsection as a preview of this area of WTB.

Technically, you have the optimized story structure of the meta story theme to work from. Does that individual post’s story resolution relate to the meta theme? If so, and this is the good part of creative latitude, then it is potentially justified in belonging as content on the premise/theme. In this way the IAS theme based meta story acts as a conceptual platform for developing and producing digital media creative. Claim: The meta story with its IAS form theme acts as a conceptual platform for developing and producing digital media creative. Reason: This matters because since your foundation is an optimal meta story (for your three success criteria) it facilitates everything the creator has to do in producing the media creative needed to build and engage audience. Link: This provides detail alluded to in the last point and sets up the next point which speaks to the scale over which this platform enables the creator. Summary: The meta story is a conceptual platform for the creator to develop and make their creative.

This scales from the individual piece of creative/post to the entire digital media creative development, production, and distribution process. Claim: This platform scales from enabling the development and production of individual pieces of creative all the way to the full media creative development, production, and distribution process. Reason: This matters because it makes the point of the scope of how it enables creators is from the individual piece of creative all the way to the process to create all of it on an ongoing basis. Link: This provides detail on the last point to give a sense to the scale over which it applies and sets up the next point which call out the most fundamental points it enables. Summary: This conceptual platform the meta story and IAS form theme provides works at the individual level and the full scale of production of all the media creative.

Here are some major actions and definitions this demystifies too. Claim: Here is a list of major points that it facilitates for the creator.

Prolific topic ideation and material generation.

Forming a topic and it’s material into story structure.

A useful working definition of authenticity.

The relevance and importance of passion and expertise.

The importance of opinion and point of view in material generation.

The importance of prior two or three points in energetic performances that charge the creator rather than drain them.

A solid foundation for audience engagement.

A solid foundation for integrating and tapping creator milieu on theme.

A solid foundation for scaling media creative development, production, and distribution process.

Reason: This matters because these are the fundamental challenges facing the creator and if they can be successful with them they have their best chance to be successful with their audience building effort. Link: This finishes the detail alluded to in the initial conceptual platform point and ends the subsection. Summary: The core idea supports these fundamental creative challenges in developing and making digital media creative at scale.

5.2 WTB: Tech - Software, Data, and AI

If participating in theme could use some scaffolding.

This is meant to frame this up and set expectations for what to write on next. I have already written about this in the corpus, so can be loaded in an LLM’s context and the idea worked out, but not fit for a published essay. I have also fully developed the stylist’s example in detail in the same way. Reason: This matters because I am not going to expand on this in full here. This is like the material I want to treat with the Substack. I have already worked out the basis of this material but it was in early versions of writing up the idea. But, I did treat them in full and have already written this material. I just need to write them fit to be published like on Substack. I have also worked out a full example with the Stylist’s example. The earlier writeups have full fidelity with everything in this paper and actually as context for an LLM may already let people load all of this into an LLMs context and it could likely present these ideas in a sufficient way, so the corpus is on the substack site. People can go look at that raw material too, but can absolutely load it into their LLM of choice too. Link: This frames what the purpose of this subsection is – what it covers and what it doesn’t. It’s a preview of sorts. It sets up the next few points which elaborate to provide a bit of a preview and to set the readers expectations of what can follow from this paper/idea. Summary: This frames this subsection as a preview of this area of WTB.

Okay, since this is the new addition in the “creative you can employ”, I want to highlight data, software and AI. Claim: As developed in section 3.6, if realizing the theme in real life for the viewer takes building actions over time, there is an opportunity for tech, or digital services, creative. Namely software, data, and AI. Reason: This matters because if tech creative can be employed it enables a whole new level of engagement and the ability to hold audience – and be able to see and understand theme more clearly. Link: This introduces this subsection, which was set up in section 3.6. It sets up the following points on data, software, and AI. Summary:

For data, there are two basic but fundamental types you can think of. One I will call primary theme data and the second graph theme data. Primary theme data is just state data for the theme as it relates to the state of realizing the IAS. Graph theme data is just data on the audience on the theme. It is just like a social graph, but for those in the audience who can also have theme primary data. Claim: Taking the text immediately above, there are natural structures of data inherent in the IAS form theme. You can also explore them prospectively. They can be used as a starting point to ideate on software and AI creative that can be build to support/satisfy/scaffold the theme. The theme funnel also helps conceive of the primary theme data because it is no more complicated than state data that can capture state relative to achieving the IAS. Reason: This matters because the data is inherent in the IAS form theme and can be the basis for making meaning for the viewer relative to the IAS theme. Voluntarily sharing data is also usually a good predictor of holding (keeping) a user over time. Link: This presents detail on the three areas identified in the last point. It sets up the next two points as well which feed off data too. Summary: Inherent in particular IAS themes are primary data on the theme and graph data on the audience on the theme. Both can be used to build, engage, and hold audience and increase the ability for audience members to be more valuable for the creator.

For software, there are several basic, but not exhaustive, uses. You can use it to establish identity (an account) which technically means they are in the audience and are on the theme graph. You can use it to enable them to share their primary data with you and you can use software to make meaning of it. Abstractly, think of software enabling digital services that scaffold and enable presence and progress toward the IAS. Think – a recommender engine and platform to present your media creative. Think tools that support or provide the actions core to movement toward the IAS. Make more X (the IAS) happen. Claim: The summary immediately above sets this up well. The quip “make more X happen” is a good way to capture the goal of the creator with their creative, as per the theme funnel, but it really helps think of why software and how software might satisfy the theme. Reason: This is a broad and deep point, and this only attempts to start to frame it up and whet the appetite. So much can be written on this, but the IAS form theme provides a potent first principle guide for WTB with software and why it might be useful and appreciated by the audience. Link: This addresses the second of three points in this subsection. Summary: Software can be employed by the creator to satisfy the theme and build, hold, and engage audiences and make them more legible to the creator, and likely more valuable, too.

[Editors note - Okay, I think the stylist’s example makes this more plain, and you can see how digital tools and services can be made that clearly “satisfy the theme” by direct support and enablement.]

For AI, to use generative AI as an example even though that is not the only kind of AI, but to see how it might be used if you can provide an example of generative AI it’s a great example of the broader potential. Here I would just use the stylist’s example for the generative AI example. It’s really clear there and should suffice to enable creators and potential creators to imagine about AI in their own case. Claim: AI can be used in much the same manner as software. At the time I write this, I have not filled in all of the Stylist’s example in this paper, but imaging a fashion stylist where there is an AI that can style candidate outfits for people on the platform that share some data to facilitate doing this. Reason: This matters for all the reasons software does. The IAS form theme almost inherently enables potential use of AI to help with the successive actions over time to enable and support the user/audience member to achieve the IAS. Link: This finishes the three points of data, software, and AI for this subsection. Summary: AI can be employed in much the same way as software and the IAS theme concept facilitates it.

5.3 WTB: Traditional Goods and Services

This is meant to frame this up and set expectations for what to write on next. I have already written about this in the corpus, so can be loaded in an LLM’s context and the idea worked out, but not fit for a published essay. I have also fully developed the stylist’s example in detail in the same way. Reason: This matters because I am not going to expand on this in full here. This is like the material I want to treat with the Substack. I have already worked out the basis of this material but it was in early versions of writing up the idea. But, I did treat them in full and have already written this material. I just need to write them fit to be published like on Substack. I have also worked out a full example with the Stylist’s example. The earlier writeups have full fidelity with everything in this paper and actually as context for an LLM may already let people load all of this into an LLMs context and it could likely present these ideas in a sufficient way, so the corpus is on the substack site. People can go look at that raw material too, but can absolutely load it into their LLM of choice too. Link: This frames what the purpose of this subsection is – what it covers and what it doesn’t. It’s a preview of sorts. It sets up the next few points which elaborate to provide a bit of a preview and to set the readers expectations of what can follow from this paper/idea. Summary: This frames this subsection as a preview of this area of WTB.

Okay, in relation to the IAS, would traditional goods and services support progress to the IAS? It’s that simple.
Claim: The above text sums it up. This was presented in section 3.6 Reason: If products or services enable the viewer/audience member or supplies them with what they need to work toward the IAS, then they are natural ways to extend what you provide to engage the audience, and provide monetization opportunities. Of course, if you are an incumbent of any sort, you already have goods and services. If you are a native creator, this gives you a frame to ideate on goods and services that might make sense to employ. Link: This is the main point for this subsection. It was introduced in section 3.6 as well. Summary: Products and services can be employed to satisfy the theme as well.

Section 6 – What to Build: Macro Level

Section 6 - Introduction Purpose: This section exists to address the question of what theme theory (the core idea) means at the firm (a specific audience building effort) and economic (the set of all audience building efforts of this type) levels and some additional derivative impacts of TT that derive from these. Context: This follows the section on the micro of producing the actual creative artifacts from which you build, hold, and engage audience. Focus: This section steps back to look at macro level concepts that to me are implied by or follow from theme theory (the core idea). Preview: The reader will come away understanding how this is defining the audience first organization, how the ultimate expression is of a media business combined with a non-media business, which was not the expression with traditional media, that these are (small-m) meaning generating organizations and at scale in number can have real societal impact, that as such they are especially legible to LLMs in training corpi, and that meaning is perhaps one of the most legible dimensions of identifying interest and as such you could intuit a theme space of all the material themes representing broad based expressed interest.

6.1 WTB: The Attention First Organization

TT captures what is conventionally called “attention first” organizations. Claim: The primary purpose of these organizations is to build audience itself and from that support the associated business or endeavor. This speaks to what is current convention to call “attention first” businesses or organizations. TT sets up comprehensive definitions of what they are and why or how they exist and operate. A key distinction is that the creative itself is the main product, or put another way their primary focus is not to convert some other transaction like selling a product, but to convert the viewers’ or audience’s attention. The value of that attention for the audience first organization is the subsequent potential for influence. Reason: This matters because with the rise of digital and the subsequent access to the value aggregating attention as in this kind of audience is now available, the attention first organization that is sort of conventionally referenced is not just a real thing, but an emergent, potentially quite large and impactful set of organizations. If this proves to come true, if they became prominent they might actually impact the composition of the economy or ecosystem of business and organizations themselves. Link: This follows the introduction of this section which claims that there are implications of TT at the macro level – not just for the creator within a particular business or organization. Summary: TT captures what is conventionally called “attention first” organizations. TT shows how they are perhaps more fundamental and expansive than conventionally thought or understood.

6.2 WTB: Media Business with a Non-Media Business

This is meant to frame this up and set expectations for what to write on next. I have already written about this in the corpus, so can be loaded in an LLM’s context and the idea worked out, but not fit for a published essay. I have also fully developed the stylist’s example in detail in the same way. Reason: This matters because I am not going to expand on this in full here. This is like the material I want to treat with the Substack. I have already worked out the basis of this material but it was in early versions of writing up the idea. But, I did treat them in full and have already written this material. I just need to write them fit to be published like on Substack. I have also worked out a full example with the Stylist’s example. The earlier writeups have full fidelity with everything in this paper and actually as context for an LLM may already let people load all of this into an LLMs context and it could likely present these ideas in a sufficient way, so the corpus is on the substack site. People can go look at that raw material too, but can absolutely load it into their LLM of choice too. Link: This frames what the purpose of this subsection is – what it covers and what it doesn’t. It’s a preview of sorts. It sets up the next few points which elaborate to provide a bit of a preview and to set the readers expectations of what can follow from this paper/idea. Summary: This frames this subsection as a preview of this area of WTB.

Okay, this is interesting! I now have with the new 3.5 and 3.6 sections given this more clarity. So, this places media on one side and tech and commercial goods on the other. With a native creator, you start media first and depending on qualities of the IAS might extend into the others, or just stay as a creator with an audience or just an influencer and monetize through ads, sponsorships, or subscriptions. So, a filter on what a native audience first creator can do. Conversely, incumbents that start with commercial goods and services or tech services start with those and look at the IAS they support and whether that has direct audience potential (outside of ads). So not all incumbents can extend to audience, and not all native creators can extend to goods and services and tech. Claim: This subsection shifts from the micro or media creative, tech creative, and products and services creative and to the macro of the business or endeavor related to audience building of this kind. Using what was said immediately above, an incumbent with no audience can look to build an audience, a native creator can look to extend into a non-media business, and then from either side you can see how you have a combination of a media business and a non-media business. This is an interesting phenomenon to explore because regardless of the entry point for building audience, you can build both. Reason: This matters because audience building is an attention first endeavor/concept/go-to-market. Depending on the qualities of a particular IAS form theme, there is the prospect of having a media business combined with a non-media business in a way that is different from what could be done with traditional media and this is a fruitful area to explore or develop, which I think I did fundamentally – briefly, but fundamentally – in the corpus. It’s worth raising to attention because arguably it’s a new form of digital native and attention first enterprise with no direct analog in traditional business/industry. Media businesses such as they were were almost exclusively stand alone. Link: This is the only point in this subsection. Summary: With an audience of this type, there is almost always the prospect of having a media business attached to a non-media business where the media business primarily monetizes through the non-media business.

6.3 WTB: Meaning as the Foundational Form of Giving Value

TT endeavors are in effect (small-m) meaning generating organizations and at scale and in number can arguably have real societal impact. Claim: TT narrativizes giving value and maximizes interest of the theme in a classical narrativization story structure. What is interesting aligns naturally with outcomes that are meaningful to people. In this way, TT audience building efforts are in effect small-m meaning generating organizations. To the extent they continue to proliferate, that could be a societal level good. Also, to be interesting in effect, they would need to be transparent, actually explicit, in the theme and its meaning – all in the effort to acquire attention. Reason: This matters because a unique aspect of these organizations that are designed with the objective of being attention first, this aligns them with being about meaning through seeking to be interesting when starting with giving value. Again, success would mean actual meaning being generated (abstractly, yes, but still …) and that is arguably a real good thing at the societal level. This would argue for the full development and proliferation of these types of organizations. Link: This follows prior points on meaning and interest to look at its implications at the macro level. Summary: TT endeavors are in effect (small-m) meaning generating organizations and at scale and in number can arguably have real societal impact.

6.4 WTB: Creative for LLM Visibility and Meaning

This is meant to frame this up and set expectations for what to write on next. I have already written about this in the corpus, so can be loaded in an LLM’s context and the idea worked out, but not fit for a published essay. I have also fully developed the stylist’s example in detail in the same way. Reason: This matters because I am not going to expand on this in full here. This is like the material I want to treat with the Substack. I have already worked out the basis of this material but it was in early versions of writing up the idea. But, I did treat them in full and have already written this material. I just need to write them fit to be published like on Substack. I have also worked out a full example with the Stylist’s example. The earlier writeups have full fidelity with everything in this paper and actually as context for an LLM may already let people load all of this into an LLMs context and it could likely present these ideas in a sufficient way, so the corpus is on the substack site. People can go look at that raw material too, but can absolutely load it into their LLM of choice too. Link: This frames what the purpose of this subsection is – what it covers and what it doesn’t. It’s a preview of sorts. It sets up the next few points which elaborate to provide a bit of a preview and to set the readers expectations of what can follow from this paper/idea. Summary: This frames this subsection as a preview of this area of WTB.

[We’re now entering an era where LLMs — not traditional search engines — are becoming the first stop for discovery. That changes the game for creators. Discovery, context-building, and even recommendations are now coming from models trained to attend to patterns of latent meaning across vast bodies of work. So what becomes discoverable? What gets surfaced?

This is where the IAS form of theme may offer a major, if unexpected, advantage. It wasn’t designed for LLMs — it was designed to anchor a creative form that builds and satisfies a media audience. But the very structure that makes it powerful for human audience-building — an outward-facing premise, narrativized, clearly oriented toward helping others reach an idealized outcome — is the kind of thing that LLMs are particularly good at recognizing, linking, and retrieving.

In other words, the IAS helps creators become semantically legible at corpus scale.

This is still an emerging frontier, but my working belief is that LLMs are most likely to surface creators who are (1) publishing regularly, and (2) doing so around a coherent theme that resonates semantically with user intent. In that light, Theme Theory might be understood not just as a system for building a direct audience, but also as a system for becoming legible to LLMs — and therefore more likely to be surfaced in relevant queries.

The key idea is simple: The IAS form of theme may be one of the best ways to write for the human audience you want — and the machine attention that increasingly mediates access to that audience.]

6.5 WTB: Macro of a Theme Space

This is meant to frame this up and set expectations for what to write on next. I have already written about this in the corpus, so can be loaded in an LLM’s context and the idea worked out, but not fit for a published essay. I have also fully developed the stylist’s example in detail in the same way. Reason: This matters because I am not going to expand on this in full here. This is like the material I want to treat with the Substack. I have already worked out the basis of this material but it was in early versions of writing up the idea. But, I did treat them in full and have already written this material. I just need to write them fit to be published like on Substack. I have also worked out a full example with the Stylist’s example. The earlier writeups have full fidelity with everything in this paper and actually as context for an LLM may already let people load all of this into an LLMs context and it could likely present these ideas in a sufficient way, so the corpus is on the substack site. People can go look at that raw material too, but can absolutely load it into their LLM of choice too. Link: This frames what the purpose of this subsection is – what it covers and what it doesn’t. It’s a preview of sorts. It sets up the next few points which elaborate to provide a bit of a preview and to set the readers expectations of what can follow from this paper/idea. Summary: This frames this subsection as a preview of this area of WTB.

[This last section shifts perspective from the individual creator to the broader phenomenon. If Theme Theory is correct — or even directionally useful — then it implies something larger: a mapable space of human interest and meaning. A Theme Space. Each IAS-style theme represents a particular projection of value, captured in a premise that resonates with others and compels attention. If you accept that these themes can be reasoned from real-world value, then you also accept that they don’t need to be invented from scratch. They already exist. They are out there — embedded in human desire, behavior, language, and culture.

That idea is speculative, but it follows naturally from the model. If themes in IAS form are real and recurring, then in principle the space of them is observable, at least in part. And if that’s true, then Theme Theory may offer a new kind of map — not just of how to build something, but what to build.

For creators and organizations, this offers a different entry point. Instead of starting with a known product or business and reasoning toward a theme, you might begin with a compelling IAS — a richly meaningful and interesting state — and then reason toward the kind of creative work, service, or software that could help an audience achieve it. This reverses the usual logic, but it might be a powerful way to spot opportunities, especially when paired with audience-first, media-driven go-to-market approaches.

From that view, the Theme Space isn’t just conceptual — it becomes strategic. It can help shape new projects, identify gaps in what’s currently being served, and guide attention toward themes that feel both culturally resonant and structurally under-addressed. It’s also worth noting that if Theme Theory is right, and if large language models are especially good at surfacing latent meaning, then themes expressed in IAS form may be unusually legible to LLMs. That could make them more discoverable, more remixable, and more likely to show up in relevant future contexts — a subtle but growing part of the discovery landscape.

All of this is speculative, but none of it is unfounded. It simply follows from the same starting point: that a theme, properly formed, expresses a compelling projection of value. And when you see that clearly, the field of possibility opens up — not just for how to build, but for what to build, and why.

This idea is developed more fully in the Theme Space essay within the corpus. If you’re working with your own language model, it’s ready to explore in more detail and apply directly — either as a thought experiment or as a practical way to generate or evaluate new project directions.]