Interview, Fireside Chat, Product Demonstration, Other
The New Media Playbook with Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz
- The 816Z new media team intends to maintain a strategic focus on the 2026 outlook by that specific year, while Ben predicts that organizations failing to commit entirely to the new media environment will face extinction due to conflicting old and new world dynamics.
- Mark asserts that "narrow channel narrow casting" is fading in favor of the ability to target extremely narrow audiences, such as 90 specific founders, which is considered superior to reaching a broad four percent of the world.
- Ben notes that the internet provides a "big net improvement" over old media despite not being 100% better, driven by a cultural shift from the 2000s and 2010s rooted in online gaming and young demographics, leading to a "choose your own adventure" mix of oral and written cultures.
- Mark predicts that the "leading edge" of idea formation and authority in AI and politics is now "almost entirely" occurring on X, causing traditional media outlets to lose the ability to move fast enough and forcing them to cover viral posts from days or weeks ago.
- Ben expects traditional media executives are undergoing a "physiological breakdown" as the internet collective crowd decides importance and moves events much faster than the industry can handle.
- Mark states that traditional media must chase viral posts "for the rest of our life" because the "long thing" regarding internet cycles will not change, and Ben adds that no soundbite provides sufficient information for complex political or technological problems, necessitating long-form explanation.
- Ben observes that public figures are rarely destroyed by aggressive statements today because the internet allows room to explain thoughts in "long form" or within context, making it harder to "blow people up" compared to the past where corrections were impossible.
- Mark predicts that professional CEOs who rely on "very careful politicking" are misaligned with the new world where being controversial is advantageous and power is evidenced by having many critics.
- Ben asserts that if a CEO is powerful and interesting, the resulting dislike from many people is a "good thing" and "evidence of our power and our distinctness."
- Mark expects that companies must "commit to being fast" to sustain a faster OODA loop than competitors, which can cause the opposing side to experience a "psychological breakdown" and become completely defensive.
- Ben predicts that organizations previously using a "fully deliberate strategy" taking "days to weeks to months" to decide communications must adapt, as all old media instincts are now incorrect and require complete rethinking.
- Ben outlines the 816Z approach of assigning an expert obsessed with a specific medium to every platform, citing an Instagram manager who grew 35% month over month, and mandates that every "go direct motion" engagement must originate from the CEO.
- Mark expects the "Launch as a Service" product will provide a superpower to guarantee a viral announcement, while Ben predicts the "New Media Fellowship" will become a franchise, having already generated two hires from 2000 applications.
- Ben anticipates the popularization of the term "new media" will lead to a rise in "new media JDs" and companies seeking a "head of new media."
- Mark advises against reading comments, predicting that attacks often come from individuals with few followers, bots, or bitter people rather than serious contributors, and that not reading comments is the correct approach for the firm.