15th of March 1985 was the day a Massachusetts-based computer company was about to make history. They purchased and registered the very first .com domain in history: symbolics.com
Although the company is no longer active, the website lives on as a digital museum piece. What is even more interesting is that ''The Net'' did not become a thing for another 10 years. So what made us collectively give it a try?
Exchanging goods and services has always been the backbone of our human society. Ever since we started trading, humans have been consumed with creating better channels of shipping goods and information from one place to another. When the internet was invented and introduced to the World, it became obvious that it brings the solution to a long-lived dream of humanity: being connected at a glance.
How Does That Affect You:
The Internet created more millionaires and billionaires than all the other networks combined. This is an opportunity that none of our predecessors had. However, it became such a fast movement, that even the top people in it are too slow to keep up. It's almost as if it became an entity on its own, a universal consciousness constantly pushing the boundaries and redefining the future of humanity.
That’s why is so important to analyze it, understand it, and identify where we fit within the structure.
The 5 Pillars
Over the past 3 decades, The Net became much like a huge concrete platform suspended on a cloud, the more people were joining the havier it would become. So the 5 pillars emerged naturally, as a way to balance and support this platform.
Market Hubs - Most often found as Search Engines and Social Media Platforms. Provide open networking platforms
Software as a Service - Common examples are Microsoft Office, Adobe, Android, Photoshop, Computer Games, etc. The main purpose is to automate repetitive and scheduled tasks or serve as a means for entertainment.
Agencies - Most popular are Talent Management Agencies, Marketing & PR Agencies, Consulting Agencies, etc. Helping buyers and sellers adapt to the new algorithm & market standards.
Influencers - Content Creators with large follower databases, serve the structure by connecting buyers with sellers
E-commerce Store - Sourcing and providing products and services.
We go in-depth into each pillar in our class ''The 5 Mega Pillars of Internet Businesses'', so make sure to check it out to learn how they form, make money, and most importantly, what's in it for you!
Your Position On The Structure.
Since you are reading this article, chances are you are more than just an end consumer when it comes to The Net. We could guess you are participating by embodying 1 or more of these pillars. The question is which one?
It is perfectly normal, during one's entrepreneurial journey, to fluctuate between the pillars until you find a rightful place. All pillars come with their own challenges and benefits, none of them is more important than the other, and all of them must hold each other up, in order to survive.
The 5 Pillar Symbiosis.
As with any other Eco-system, The Net also has a circle of life, a sense of automation, and a very fast speed.
Imagine how our bodies function. The liver must communicate with the heart and with the brain, the brain must send signals through the spine, get back to the liver, and so on. Trillions of micro-movements and reactions have to happen for the whole to exist.
Similarly, the micro-movements that you and I perform every day on the Net participate in supporting the entire structure and its very existence.
Case Study:
Tia is a tech Influencer (4th pillar). She built a healthy following by reviewing the latest pieces of tech on the market. Tia has now over 100K followers combined between her Youtube and Twitch accounts (1st pillar).
Although she's been creating amazing content, Tia hasn't made much of a return on her investment so she decides it's time to monetize her platform but has no clue where to start. She approaches a Talent Management Agency (3rd pillar) to help her out.
The Agency is delighted to have Tia on board and get to work by trying to get deals with brands (5th pillar). After networking between hundreds of companies, the Agency was able to find a sponsor - a company that sells cyber security packages (5th & 2nd pillar).
Tia then gets to work, producing content that endorses this company. Her followers love the service and she makes a significant amount of sales.
At this point the symbiosis is complete and the ecosystem moving cycle can start again and again. It can also split in multiple directions. If Tia was to start her own merch line, she would also become the 5th pillar. If the Agency decided to create a digital platform where influencers and brands would meet directly, they will also become the 1st pillar and so on.
The micro-entities within all pillars are working hard to find each other, form productive relationships, and create these bubbles of exchange by serving each other as well as the end customer.
How To Incorporate This Into Your Business.
The structure has full capacity to support your business if you, in turn, support the structure.
If your business is not doing well, it probably is because it's isolated from the other pillars. Perhaps you are trying to be all 5 pillars by yourself or perhaps you have underestimated one of the 5 and are now lacking a very strategic partnership.
You see, if Tia decided to find sponsors all by herself, it might have distracted her from creating the quality content her audience was used to, which in turn would've affected her engagement rate and so on. It is very tempting to do everything ourselves but it's not always practical and more often than not, it will isolate us from the platform and result in burnout.
So ask yourself, which pillar am I and who could be the next immediate support point for me? Use the chart below to identify your position and balance your workflow.
If you want to learn more about the 5 pillars (and how to build them) be sure to check out the Class.
That was really insightful & helpful. Thank you 🙌