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Skill Mix

Fascinating read about the Lipstick King and the online influencers. This is the highest form of attention harvesting - the results speak for themselves. It made me think about emotional appeal at scale. There needs to a certain degree of homogeneity and conformity that matches what the influencer is promoting. While someone like Li plays the role of a taste-maker, they need to start from some lowest common denominator level to get that groundswell of support that jumpstarts their career.

So maybe the genius is not so much in taste-making and influencing but knowing where to begin. There is no way to be successful in this business without getting off to a running start. If also takes one would assume a certain chameleon personality to pull this off - the influenced have to be able to see themselves wearing that lipstick and feeling like they had their first crush like Li is suggesting. 

In the traditional world that would be what a successful motivational speaker could do - they tell you their story, offer you wisdom on how to improve your lot and suddenly you feel it's in the realm of plausible for you too. Change ensues from there. 

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