In the regular universe, it is the product that is scarce. But in the Inverse Universe, products are not scarce; they're abundant. The Inverse Universe facilitates duplication (think: spam), and as such, attention becomes the scarce resource.

What is the result of this? Basically, it inverts the market. It's not a sellers market; it's a buyer's market. The customer wields the power, since he/she owns (or, on some level, is the embodiment of) the scarce resource -- his/her own attention.




Since the battle in the marketplace is now about the customer's attention, the war of business must occur in the mind of the customer -- that's what we're fighting over.



The result? Customers don't need to go to businesses; businesses need to go to customers. In terms of execution, this means syndication strategies are favorable. Think widgets, RSS, and APIs. Don't think monopolistic business practices, closed source software, or walled garden media.

New Media Example: Adsense

To the delight of spammers everywhere, Adsense is financing Principle #3 of the Inverse Universe. The customer doesn't have to go to Google's ads; rather, Google's ads are going to the customer. Likewise, we can say that most viral strategies are in line with Principle #3 of the Inverse Universe.

The next post will wrap things up by taking a look at the concepts of the Inverse Universe being expressed by others in different ways.

Other Posts In This Series

Mini-Series: The 3 Principles of the Inverse Universe
Inverse Universe Principle #1: Integration, Not Differentation
Inverse Universe Principle #2: The Things You Own, End Up Owning You
Inversion of Movement: You Go to the Customer, the Customer Doesn't Go to You
Who Else is Talking About the Inverse Universe?