NB

In 1985, my mom was a 'shy girl' on a cycle in Indore. Then, three guys made the mistake of thinking her silence was a weakness.

This is a story about the day she surprised them, and herself.

Happy Women’s Day folks!

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The sessions were a muted affair this Sunday.

The core IST group (dubbed Eastern Promises) is defunct at this point. It has been so for a while now. But I still log in religiously because that assures me an hour of disciplined reading.

Afterall, my original thesis behind socread was to share my personal reading time.

The founder-focused group (Quest), also in IST, often has 3 or 4 readers including yours truly.

But this Sunday I was the lone reader there too.

One of my comrades in this group recently joined and has his hand full these days. The other two are in the process of raising a seed round for their AI Smartglasses startup.

And then, I had to postpone the 49th gathering of the PT group (Westside Stories) to attend to my health.

In any case, I was able to read a truly insightful piece in the IST groups. The following is a brief summary of this fine wine.

Come for the Network, Pay for the Tool

One of Web 2.0's most crucial lessons is that extractive business models cannot be masked by marketing for very long.

This statement captures the core of ’s essay, Come for the Network, Pay for the Tool, which I read across socread on Feb 14 - 15, 2026.

Though written six years ago in July 2020, its analysis remains incredibly relevant today.

The essay offers a way to think about:

1️⃣ why the era of simply extracting rented attention from massive platforms is coming to an end as audiences evacuate,

Shorin foresaw the erosion of legacy social platforms, warning that generic, one-size-fits-all chat clones ultimately fail to serve unique internet-first communities.

Instead, he explores how, as the old Web 2.0 truce falls apart, content, commerce, and social are collapsing into a different model: paid communities. 

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2️⃣ why designing bespoke digital spaces or communities as true infrastructure, with customized tools, governance, and active participation, makes them durable

Shorin flips the old Web 2.0 playbook ("come for the tool, stay for the network") on its head. 

His sustainable alternative is literal: people gather for a dedicated niche community first, then willingly pay for highly tailored, bespoke software that supports their specific workflows ("come for the network, pay for the tool").

Using examples like Are.na, Replit (ca 2020), and the Bloomberg Terminal, he posits why customized tools paired with dedicated social spaces succeed. 

They foster genuine user-to-user connection, rather than transparently exploiting members as free marketing resources.

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3️⃣ how treating community purely as a marketing layer for a passive audience guarantees it will fracture,

Community cannot just be a mask for an extractive business model. 

Shorin explicitly warns that users will quickly turn on these so-called communities if they are transparently viewed as free marketing resources. 

Furthermore, as Aaron Z. Lewis notes in his response to Shorin's piece, true communities can't just be disembodied utopias in the cloud.

These digital networks must eventually be grounded in our physical, material reality. 

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This perspective is a vital blueprint for the entrepreneurs, creators, and organizers building alternative networks and distribution channels.

It offers a sustainable path for specific groups (e.g., independent practitioners, streamer communities, or niche hobbyists) without relying on the exhausting, ad-driven scale of legacy platforms.

Ultimately, Shorin reminds us that designing these spaces isn't about maximizing scale. It’s an act of genuine community organizing and care that demands real investment.

An essential read that has stood the test of time. Do read it when you find some time.

An Invitation

Before I end this lossy compression, let me invite you to the socread sessions. They are cozy corners for readers of all persuasions. Read about them here and click this for schedule and session links.

Ciao.

Supplements & Complements

1. Complement Shorin’s piece with ‘s A User’s Guide to Building a Subculture on for actionable impact.

2. ’s original post on Come for the Tool, Stay for the Network paradigm and Marc Bodnick’s rebuttal.

Post Script

I will also feature Shorin’s essay in ’s weekend RE:AD on March 13, 2026 because it is very relevant for advertisers, marketers and brand teams.

The “pay for the tool” premise applies to any brand (yes, even if you sell shampoo, not software). The goal is to stop merely selling a product, and start by providing the infrastructure and dedicated space that fosters genuine user-to-user and user-to-brand connections first.

To win in this new era, brands must stop extracting marketing value and start building places where people actually want to live.

The PT and the founder-focused Quest sessions followed the Bring Your Own Read format this Sunday. Folks often continue reading the books they pickup during the week (or month). Hence the large number of books featured in the dispatch.1

Let’s find out what everyone read.

Three Books and An Essay

Every new cultural idea, however radical or subversive, gets absorbed into the mainstream...

That's one of the three reasons cites, in his essay How Advertising Consumed the Counter-culture, for why rebel branding or using counter-cultural cues in advertising no longer works the way it used to.

For decades, brands borrowed rebellion to project identity. But over time, the tone of culture shifted and rebellion stopped landing.

This essay offers a way to think about

1️⃣ how advertising absorbed counter-cultural sensibility to sell belief,
2️⃣ why that approach no longer matches the mood,
3️⃣ and what it means when a once-powerful posture no longer connects.

The essay isn't about advertising tactics, but about seeing the moment we are in and what led to it.

I had featured it in one of ’s weekend RE:AD as well. It is a useful invitation to think if your work touches brand identity, voice, or cultural storytelling.

the weekend RE:AD

66.1KB ∙ PDF file

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Carousel on Ian Leslie's essay How Advertising Consumed the Counter-culture

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Here are some of the other reads from the sessions:

1️⃣ The Book: The Venture Mindset by and Alex Dang

One of those rare VC books that's not anecdotal generalization but born out of eye-opening research and interviews by the authors. Though it aims to help corporate big-wigs use a Venture Capital approach for identifying opportunities and handling risks in their industries, it is a great read for founders and budding VCs as it pulls the curtain back on how venture capital and its capitalists operate.

2️⃣ The Book: Stock Market Wizards by Jack Schwager

An oldie but a goodie. This collection of interviews with some of the top traders of the day led to a great discussion on investing strategies in the PT session.

No single strategy, prioritizing risk management, mental resilience, and discipline emerge as common threads among successful traders with heuristics and methods strewn across the pages of this fascinating read.

3️⃣ The Book: The Widow by John Grisham

A legal tale of greed and murder with a (probably) wealthy widow surrounded by a cast of sleazy characters, all after her money. Does she have it and is she leading everyone on? Her new lawyer (also after the money) wants to find out, but the widow dies, and the lawyer gets accused. How he fights back is what The Widow is all about.

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In addition to the reads above, some members used the sessions to catch up on work-related reads ranging from Term Sheets to Chapters from Conference Proceedings. Versatile af.

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This about wraps up the social readings from Feb 08, 2026. Just one more thing…

An Invitation

Before I end this summary, let me invite you to the social reading sessions. Come for cozy reading, great company, and stimulating conversations. Read curated surprises or bring your own read. You can find the schedule and session links here.

Ciao.