The Reading Garden: 3/21/25
Welcome back to the Reading Garden, where every Friday we spotlight three must-read pieces we're paying attention to and explore what they mean for legacy media.
Let's dive right in.
1. The Creator Casino: Playing to Lose?
Zack Evans of Create.Repeat lays bare the mechanics of the social media landscape, likening it to a Vegas casino, rigged in favor of the platforms. The "viral jackpot," once a path to audience growth, is now merely an illusion, leaving creators chasing fleeting visibility rather than building genuine communities.
As major platforms increasingly control visibility through unpredictable algorithms, followercounts and virality are no longer reliable metrics for sustainable success. The real value lies in establishing stable, direct audience connections. Just like we highlighted in last week’s post, creators are turning to Patreon to build their communities. Evans’ post makes it clear that this isa continuing trend.
2. The New Media Guard is Here—and Legacy Should Take Note
Annie Corser’s incisive piece in No Strategy explores the rising wave of internet-first formats, from Amelia Dimoldenberg’s disarmingly effective Chicken Shop Date to Ziwe’s edgy, provocative interviews. One thing is clear: traditional press junkets, glossy magazine profiles, and talk-show sofa spots are being overtaken by podcasts, YouTube hybrids, and internet-native series that thrive on irreverence, intimacy, and cultural savvy.
These new formats, raw yet carefully curated, don’t just allow celebrities to showcase personality; they turn promotion itself into genuine entertainment. Legacy media should read Corser’s analysis as inspiration. The secret ingredient is the intimate, unguarded connection that creators cultivate with their audiences. What’s stopping A-List celebrities from acting the same online?
3. Authenticity is one of the most overused words in modern culture
In a recent Instagram Reel, brand strategist Eugene Rabkin critiques the overuse of "authenticity" in modern culture. He suggests that as resistance movements return to grassroots levels, what audiences now seek is "fiction," a crafted narrative that offers escapism and imagination.
For legacy media, Rabkin's perspective is a call for opportunity. While authenticity has been a buzzword on social media to the point of saturation, there's a growing appetite for great storytelling that transports audiences beyond their realities. This shift implies that consumers may be yearning for great narratives that provide escapism, and we all know that Hollywood has some pretty great storytellers.
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See you next week.