Friday, March 31, 2023

The negative feedback loop between product and distribution

My most recent financial column is published at The Local Reporter. I actually spend time writing these and thinking about their composition, albeit not that much time. Maybe a couple of hours each. Then I post about them on both Facebook and LinkedIn. Of late I haven't been getting many likes or anything, which is kind of dispiriting and makes them feel like trees falling in the forest. 

Probably it is an effect of me not posting very much at all, so that my posts don't get seen by a lot of people because they just aren't being pushed into other peoples' feeds by Facebook. I could remedy that by posting more and courting more attention. But then I would slip into the negative feedback loop in which I am seeking attention and trying to do things that are popular, which would negatively impact my ability to think about the things I am writing about.

Of course, this is the nature of marketing, which seeks to garner attention and help drum up leads and thence sales. In my mind I often chastise Mary a little for doing too little of it and leaving it to me to do it for the whole household.

Really, this is why organizations split out marketing from product development and sales and delivery as they grow. All of these functions take work and compromises are entailed along the way. Right now I just don't have the bandwidth or care that much about sales and distribution. I don't need the increased revenue, and a decent-sized chunk of me just wants to focus on the thinking and the writing. Another part of me just wants the universe to hunt me down and recognize the depth of my sensitive genius. Which is not how it works.

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