The reason there is bad advice
Abundant on the internet
Is found in how the web’s designed:
The networks that we populate
Are biased for virality,
And not so for validity.
Virality means impressions
And impressions bring ad-earned cash.
And often harsh validity
Is buzzkill for the “hustle” mind.
The shortcut, hack, the easy climb –
Productivity masterclass –
Is fodder for the lazy mind
Which thinks itself the smarter kind.
And so you see the marketers,
The charlatans, the snake-oil men
Seducing you with massive wealth
Which happens to be just beyond
A simple payment portal page.
You hear their made-up success tales,
Ignoring all the ones that failed,
And see yourself become the one
Who parks a Tesla near a jet.
And even if you know they’re wrong
And think you will not fall for it,
You will convince yourself to watch
Or read or listen to their spiel.
And just like that you make them rich.
The algos see your single view
And single views of other yous,
And think the content’s valuable
And send it out to more of you
And send you more for single views
And each of us then starts to think
There must be some validity
“If there are millions just like me.”
And even if you do not pay
The advertisers flock to them
And write them checks with commas few
So they can reach your lazy mind,
Seduce you with a “value prop”,
Addict you with a trial (free),
And charge your card innocuously
A “heavily discounted” fee.