Introduction to the Xost Analysis Series
I'll go as deep as I possibly can
I got good feedback. One person suggested more subliminal message analysis. He said I could expand further on public service feed content. This is an excellent suggestion for many reasons. The most important one is that the best posts I analyze are dense.
Here’s the thing to understand when a smart person rises to great heights. Where it matters, his attention to detail is deeper than you can perceive. “There are layers.” I assume I’ll not see everything in my analysis. I will err on the side of seeing something that is not there. I want to see everything. This person is that good.
Here’s the first post I plan to analyze. A bit of background on the writer: he is phenomenally skilled at manipulating emotions.1 He pours his skill into a small set of written funnels which trigger sensations like anxiety, dread, and fear. One of his goals is for readers to purchase a writing product.
The purchased writing product provides basically no value.2 It’s boilerplate stuff. The quality of what he writes behind his paywall does not matter.3 He makes his money because he is unbelievably skilled in the funnel. By analyzing the funnel, we get an almost complete sense of how great he is. The funnel sets him apart.
The other request I received was to do some of this behind my own paywall. What I’ll do is this. Any time I do an in-depth analysis, I’ll split it. I’ll put a substantial amount in front of the paywall. Some material I simply cannot bear to keep away from the eyes of the largest possible audience.
Behind the paywall, I will just keep going. I believe I am analyzing a genius. That is my conclusion after months of careful study. When you encounter a genius you will benefit the most if you respect and appreciate him. Keep searching for lessons to learn. Look closely: every word matters.
The rabbit hole goes deeper. Personally, I find this fun. Hope you enjoy frolicking with the Hatter and the Hare as much as I do. See you underground.
I’m not going to bother naming him. Some of you know who it is.
This is not pure speculation. I read it for approximately a year.
This is not entirely accurate. He lays the foundation for more emotional manipulation to retain subscribers. The point is there’s no “there” there. There’s no moment where you hit the “good stuff.” The manipulation is the good stuff.
so true - I had fallen for it. Kept paying the subscription because "this is the good stuff".
subconsciously I was no longer even paying attention to the paid posts because they werent adding any value to my process. But somehow it still felt valuable.
Your tweets woke me up and I unsubscribed.
I have been following Lobster for many months now. Impatiently waiting for this series to be published because nobody has done an in-depth analysis yet. Everything from manipulation vs persuasion, memetics to trolling & exact word placement in writing / copywriting for sales / marketing funnels. This is extremely **IMPORTANT** for all human beings to learn in order to protect themselves from the bad actors within different markets; even from your own family/friends who may try to influence your own decisions against your best interests (aligned incentives + values).