Lesson 9: The Internet Game
Lesson of the Week:
Introduction to The Internet Game
Playing the Internet Game is what we call interacting with and posting on any platform that has network effects and algorithms. Social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok all have network effects and algorithms and fall into this bucket.
Louie has increased his Twitter following to over 18,000 playing this game. And recently, his LinkedIn following to over 6,000. Many of these followers follow him for his expertise in engineering management, newsletters, real estate, and his recent journey into entrepreneurship.
We call it a game because you can't take it too seriously. And if you're not having fun, what's the point? Not only will you not play the game well, but you likely won't last long enough to have any meaningful success in it.
We also call it a game because trial and error is a prerequisite. The only way to succeed in the Internet Game is by trying things out and having fun.
But even though this game is silly, it has rules, and the impact of success is very serious. And just because you may learn the rules, it doesn't mean you will be able to play well on day 1. Mastering this game takes reps.
Your newsletter has no algorithm and weak to no network effects. This is good and bad; on one hand, everyone that subscribes to you is guaranteed to get your content. This is not true on places like Twitter. Even if you have 18k followers on Twitter, as Louie does, there is no guarantee that the algorithm will allow 18k impressions of any tweet.
On the other hand, this is bad because platforms like Twitter have network effects and algorithms - they can showcase your content to many strangers. This is how your audience grows. When strangers see it, they may decide they like you and follow your journey.
So the answer is to do both. To play the internet game well, you can experiment in your newsletter where the rules are very flexible, and you control everything. Then you take ideas that resonated and bring them as native posts on Twitter, LinkedIn, and so on. If you recall last week's lesson, we call this an Idea Public Offering.
The ideas that resonate well in places with Network Effects and Algorithms can lead to more people seeing them. The people that really like it then can decide to join your private newsletter where you own everything.
To play well in these public places with network effects and algorithms, one should play by the rules as much as possible.
There are three guiding principles or rules to the internet game:
1. Have a high Give/Ask Ratio
This means giving stuff you know well away and not asking people to do research or click on things.
2. Establish Credibility
This means people need to know you know the stuff. If you talk about stuff you don't know well or have no credibility in, you are asking people to research and ensure your posts are accurate.
3. Understand the role of Randomness
Understand that even if you follow all of the rules and play the game super well, there is still no guarantee that your content will do well. That's because the right people that are into that topic have to see it. The right people have to believe you are credible before they amplify it, and so on, among many other factors.
Over the next three weeks, we'll explore these three topics in depth.
But if you are interested in playing the internet game well, Daniel Vassallo has a course on how to build a Twitter audience. It is excellent and applicable to anything with algorithms and network effects. We highly recommend it as a way to go deeper into this topic.
Newsletter of the Week:
Josh Spector is an expert at the Internet Game. We’ll be using his newsletter, For the Interested, to demonstrate the Internet Game in the coming weeks.
Tip of the Week:
Get feedback before you send! Ask a friend to take a look at your newsletter and provide feedback and advice. An objective point of view can help you communicate to your audience.
Thank you for reading. We hope you have a wonderful weekend. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with a friend or two.
Louie & Chris
P.S. you can respond directly to this email. We read every reply. We'd love to hear from you.
Our personal newsletters: