[jongjong]

Attention is the only moat.

Companies always try to make it seem like data is valuable. Attention is valuable. With attention, you get the data for free. What they monetize is attention. Data is a small part to optimize the sale of ads but attention is the important commodity.

Why else are celebrities so well paid?

[ndr]

This surely works with consumer product. Does it equally apply to b2b?

[CuriouslyC]

Try to launch a B2B without marketing skills in 2026 and find out.

[brodouevencode]

FAFO - forgo advertising and find out

[wan23]

Attention is not a moat, it's the thing that's in the castle's treasure room. Without something that makes your service sticky attention may well just walk right out the door.

[wolttam]

User attention to get user data?

I feel like the the data to drive the really interesting capabilities (biological, chemical, material, etc, etc, etc) is not going to come in large part from end users.

[OkayPhysicist]

It's the other way around. You gather user data so that you can better capture the user's attention. Attention is the valuable resource here: with attention you can shift opinions, alter behaviors, establish norms. Attention is influence.

[wolttam]

Yeah I understood that but I don’t think we need influence over masses to train better models with novel data

[iwontberude]

Corruption is the only moat. Oligarchs can buy anything and funnel attention and money into it, creating financial success for shareholders despite poor leadership, zero social responsibility, suboptimal ideas and execution (see: Tesla)

Just commit fraud repeatedly while owning the people who run DoJ, easy peasy, no amount of attention or cash flow can displace that.

[ares623]

Go further. Violence (or the threat of it) is the only moat.