Four Reasons to Start Sharing Ideas Online
2021 is the year to start sharing ideas.
People are spending more time online than ever before. But it's those sharing their ideas that are getting all of the value.
The only thing standing between you and the tremendous power of the internet?
Sharing your ideas.
Why start sharing ideas
There are four reasons that you should start sharing in 2021.
- Unlock the leverage of the internet.
- Hone your ability to communicate.
- Become a lighthouse for like-minded people.
- Exploit the mismatch between supply and demand of quality content.
1. Unlock the leverage of the internet.
The internet has enabled permissionless leverage.
Anyone, anywhere with an internet connection can distribute their ideas to the entire world. Throughout the entirety of human history, there has been a physical bottleneck to sharing ideas. At first, it was limited to those you could speak to. This was a few hundred people at most.
With the invention of the printing press, things started to heat up. Now, you could write something once and distribute it to thousands. But there was still a physical constraint: you could only print so many books.
The internet has removed all bottlenecks to distributing your ideas - truly infinite leverage. The internet zips around your ideas instantly with the ability to reach any one of the 2.4 billion internet users. An entire army of algorithms, networks, and connections working for you free of charge! Share one idea, let the internet share it with millions.
Our simple brains cannot comprehend this kind of leverage.
To truly take advantage of it, you have to start sharing. But it doesn't take much.
In just 30 minutes per day, you can start sharing a single idea. But that's just the beginning. Once you share that idea, the internet goes to work for you free of charge.
2. Hone your ability to communicate.
Whatever industry you work in, you are in the communication business.
At any time, you're convincing someone somewhere that what you are doing is valuable. But here's an inconvenient truth: the world rewards not those that are most valuable, but those who communicate their value best.
Luckily, there is no better way to hone your ability to communicate than to start sharing online.
Whether it's tweeting, writing, creating videos, or podcasting, you enter the competition for attention. And to win that attention, you have to learn to communicate.
By sharing online, you create the quickest feedback loop to improve your communication. If you aren't winning attention, you have to improve your communication. But when things start to resonate, you can double down. Over time, improved communication skills are inevitable.
3. Become a lighthouse for like-minded people.
The internet has democratized friendship.
Before the internet, your friends could only be those you went to school with or that lived on your street. If they weren't interested in the same things as you, you were out of luck.
The internet has changed this. It unlocks access to hundreds or thousands of people who see the world the same way you do. But they need a way to find you.
The best way to do that is to be easy to find. The perfect metaphor for this is a lighthouse. Lighthouses can be seen from miles away, in any direction, at any time, day or night.
Once you start sharing ideas, anyone can stumble across your Twitter, newsletter, or blog at any time and quickly see the way you see the world. If it’s similar to how they do, it gives them an easy jumping-off point to strike up a conversation. Just like that, you're attracting a group of like-minded people.
4. Exploit the mismatch between supply and demand for quality content.
There is far greater demand for than supply of quality content online.
Why?
Because consumption is easy. Creating is uncomfortable.
Why are people uncomfortable creating?
One of two reasons:
- They think sharing will bother their followers.
- They think their followers won't care what they have to share.
Newsflash: the first one is arrogant. The second one is true, but that's a good thing.
First, sharing your ideas won't bother anyone. Americans spend seven hours per day in front of a screen. Do you really think they'll notice if you start tweeting five times per day? You could tweet 20x a day and they wouldn't notice.
(Luckily) the world doesn't revolve around you.
Second, you're right. No one will care what you have to say.
That's a good thing. That means you can make noise and listen for signal.
In the beginning, you want to share as many ideas as possible. No one will pay attention, at first.
But with enough noise, you'll find some signal, both from yourself and others. From yourself, you'll find which ideas you enjoy sharing the most. From others, you'll find which ideas resonate. The overlap between these two is your sweet spot.
From there, you can double down on the signal.
This creates a flywheel. Sharing ideas -> attracting like-minded people -> discovering new ideas -> sharing more ideas -> attracting more like-minded people -> and on and on.
All you have to do is start sharing.
Start sharing ideas in 2021
If you're like me, "start a writing habit" has sat on your to-do list for far too long.
In 2019, I was in the same spot. Luckily, I paid to join a group of writers committing to write every day for 30 days.
This financial and social accountability forced me to start writing. And it's the best decision I've ever made.
If you're looking to finally start that writing habit in 2021, check out Ship 30 for 30. Join a community of creators committing to shipping one piece of work every day for 30 days.
The only thing standing between you and these benefits: sharing an idea every day.