downstream actors in fragmented networks inevitably become exit liquidity for upstream consolidators, specifically as networks mature

protection requires top level liquidity provisioning, lock-up mechanisms & flywheels that align incentives across all lower level network nodes

in other words, proper upstream network effects are needed before downstream interface or app level fragmentation can sustain 

without it, you’ve built a purely zero sum game; a finite game; a game of volatility & attention—one that will inevitably work against 99% of its participants

it’s necessary that will build nested systems that can absorb shock at the lowest levels, eg. the creators, users & collectors

only they can we begin to remove some “zero-sumness” from the equation; only then can the shrimp survive long enough to mature & reproduce

everything else is noise & increasingly so

yappin in /midwits & creating idle rpg /animarising

upstream protection & network effects

take any publication for example

a journalist can have a few bad weeks of content & will still survive to produce more content in the next given the network itself derisks any individual node risk, eg. salary, other journalists & their content, publication brand equity & reputation, monetization, etc.

further an undiscovered journalists can tap into the network to gain notoriety & readers given the established network effects (distro)

consider this against zoras new erc20 mechanism where new creators are simply left to fend for themselves

so outside of any attention capture event whereby a single actor with a large following effectively replaces the need for proper distribution… creators, users & collectors are largely left carrying all the risk

so as networks consolidate, for example, the winners on zora are susceptible to poachment on incremental fees or via some other easy vampire-style mechanism as there is nothing to prevent such behaviors

& losers just lose

True network longevity comes from nested, shock-absorbing systems.

What mechanisms best prevent downstream actors from becoming exit liquidity in maturing networks?