It's no secret that surviving the current market situation is on my mind every single day. I keep thinking of ideas. Some borderline insane, some that might hurt me in the soul, but ideas nonetheless that might actually be viable and palatable.
What a challenge, huh?
Because the deities we casually call algorithms noticed a change in my clicking habits, my feeds have shifted dramatically. Puppies, once the undisputed kings of my recommendations, are nowhere to be found. Instead I'm greeted with an endless parade of side hustles, passive income schemes, and "easy" ways to make money online.
Ironically, the only people consistently making money seem to be the ones making those videos.
Still, here we are.
One thing I noticed almost immediately was how often the same promise appeared under different disguises.
"Make money while you sleep."
Apparently, thanks to the magical powers of AI, all you need is a marketable skill, a clever prompt, and maybe a quick phone call to your mother to let her know you've become financially independent.
After living through enough moons, I've learned that there is no such thing as a money printer.
I say that while watching people who appear to be printing money.
That reminded me of a chart I saw a few weeks ago. It was one of those fun little charts comparing how much money the big AI companies are making.
Or rather... losing.
The sea of red was almost beautiful.
Billions invested. Massive operating losses. Companies burning cash as if they had discovered an infinite oil well beneath their headquarters. It honestly didn't surprise me that much. I've suspected for a while that subscriptions are little more than customer acquisition costs right now. The real goal seems to be capturing users before anyone else does.
But then I scrolled all the way to the bottom.
Nvidia.
Yes, that Nvidia.
One lonely green bar sitting proudly in a sea of red.
It immediately reminded me of the old saying.
When the gold rush comes, be the one selling the shovels.
Shovels?
Yep.
That's basically the internet economy in a nutshell.
Nvidia sells the AI companies the hardware they need to chase the dream.
The hustle gurus sell you the dream that you can chase the dream.
Sure, it's not a perfect comparison. One is sea salt and the other is table salt. They're different, but they're definitely in the same pantry.
The common thread is that they're both selling the tools, or at least the idea that the tools will change your life.
Meanwhile, millions of hopeful people become shovel buyers.
Which leaves me wondering what the future of video platforms is actually going to look like.
Billions of AI-generated videos, automatically produced by armies of shovel buyers, each hoping to scrape a few burnt rice grains from the bottom of the pot.
HA!
Maybe that's the next gold rush.
Or maybe it's just the world's biggest shovel convention.
Either way, I have a feeling we're all about to find out.
MenO