Early on we had real organic traffic. Reasons aside, people stopped making websites and (specially those who didn't) started to act hysterical when one dared to share a link to theirs. It was just better not to promote your website (and give up on it)

Without organic traffic the right to be seen shifts to an increasingly small number of judges/players.

It use to be that if you knew your topic and put a lot of effort into writing an article you could post it any place, even on your own website. Its audience would take notice of it then at the very least tell you they didn't like it.

I'm not trying to complaint or express a desire to get back to the good old times. You could argue there was no money in freedom. Digital slavery was just more profitable and those who could/should have defended the freedom sold us out in stead. (made a handsome profit at that) It is a kind of "you don't know what you have until it is gone" type of situation.

While I don't want to promote the 99% meme either, the thing is, if you exclude 99% from "collective" opinion making you will have the 1% doing it. Thats just how basic logic works.

What kind of shape or form this takes is not very interesting imho.

What is interesting is the growing opportunity it represents.

You could say the proverbial Google has a million points of trustworthiness left. At some point they will find ways to sell it for a price that is right to them. When enough of these entities sell enough of their trust there will be room for new innovations.