Connect Humanly
Why do we forget we’re speaking to other humans as soon as we go on the internet? It’s ridiculous. The amount of times I have had to try and talk someone down who is coming to us at Interact with an insane plan for how they are going to manipulate people into becoming leads for their business is infinite. Why do we check our humanity at the door when we go on the internet?
I won’t try to trace the origins of the phenomenon. But from my best guess, it comes down to a few gurus who spouted a system for making money instantly in the 1990’s. At the time it worked actually because people didn’t understand the internet. They were used to getting information from encyclopedias, where it was edited and fact checked. So when they went on the internet and saw stuff, they assumed it was also vetted in the same way. So all you had to do was make up some stories, build a website to host your fake ideas, and you’d make money. People flocked to this like it was the gold rush, because it was in some sense.
It was also terrible for humanity. It taught us in very clear terms that other people are just trying to take advantage of us for a dollar. And that other people will do anything to take your money. Personally, I don’t think anyone won. I know some of those people who made out like bandits from the early days of the internet, and they are deeply depressed. They have the cars and the clothes, but they know what they did. And it’s disgusting.
But I’m an economist, and I understand on a practical level why people would do something that hurts themselves if it makes money. So the phenomenon of manipulation checks out. But now that is changing. At least from the view I have into the world of business in 2026.
A lot has changed since the 1990’s. Now you can spin up manipulative content instantly. You can send a million emails and generate thousands of blog posts, videos, and posts, without any effort at all. There is no barrier to entry to create fake content to try and make money. So there are a lot more people doing it. There are a lot more people attempting to follow the manipulative advice of those gurus from the 90’s to make a quick buck.
And it’s not working so well anymore. The human population is fighting back with their wallets. They’re just not buying the stuff anymore. They’re letting time and exposure make their decisions, instead of impulse purchasing crap products. I interviewed someone last week who said it takes 7-8 hours of listening and watching a creator before you are willing to buy their product. I don’t know anyone who can spew fake garbage for 7-8 hours unless they are literally a psychopath. So then you have to actually believe in what you are saying as the business owner, you can’t just follow one of these junk frameworks and make quick money. You can’t just write a sales page with the right words from Ogilvy on advertising and make free money with ads.
You have to actually care. You have to actually put in consistent effort over time. I think in some ways social media is shaping to the evolution of how people purchase. With social media you have to show up every day. You can’t just throw up a great pitch and let it ride. You have to be present over a long period of time. In my experience, and from seeing others, it’s about 18 months before people start to really trust what you are saying online. And that’s 18 months of posting consistently. At least every day for short form video, at least once a week for long form content like a podcast or a YouTube channel. And you have to have both. Because when someone sees some clips of you, and they sound compelling, they want to see if you’re really who you say you are, or if you’re just generating some junk with AI.
So then they watch your YouTube videos or listen to your podcast. They continue to see if they resonate with what you are saying and if it seems real. Then they check your references, and you have to have references in 2026. You have to be able to tell stories of the people you know, the people you work with, the companies you have helped. And those references have to be real. The watcher or listener has to go be able to check the references you are giving and see that you actually show up there.
What I’m saying is that purchasing a $30 a month subscription or membership in 2026 is way more similar to hiring an employee than it is to purchasing a $30 subscription in 1999. But most marketing still behaves like it’s 1999, and it is not working in any way, shape, or form. Trust me, I see it every day. Those people who come to us at Interact asking for the formula to manipulate people into buying? They have zero leads and zero sales.
The people who are showing up with something they believe in, care about, and want to help other people with? And who do so over a long period of time like 5 years? They are absolutely crushing it financially. And they get to feel good about it.
