In a world of new media and podcasts, it got me thinking why a company like Polymarket and a young CEO like Shayne Coplan would go on 60 Minutes when I assumed he would have his pick of major podcasts. The more I thought about it, the more I realized why Shayne would choose to do an interview on a legacy news network.
Shayne explains how Polymarket works to Anderson Cooper.
Why Go On 60 Minutes?
When I think of where Polymarket is popular, I think of places like X, the crypto community, neckbeards in their moms’ basements, and chronically online individuals. Polymarket has done a great job controlling the narrative and has quickly become one of the biggest prediction markets today. One gap is obviously their lack of reach to people who are not chronically online, like my parents and their old ass friends. And then there is 60 Minutes with its traditional appeal, legacy clout, and legitimacy.
I actually think it was a very smart move for Shayne to sit down with Anderson Cooper and explain what Polymarket is to a bunch of 50+ year olds who don’t actively sign into X. When you’re considering which podcasts or TV shows to go on, you need to consider who you’re trying to reach and why. They could have either reengaged an audience who already knows what Poly is, or they could choose to venture into a more traditional medium and then use that interview to create clips and content on X for their current audience.
Controlling The Narrative On X
When I was scrolling on X on Sunday, it felt like my entire feed was clips of Shayne’s segment on 60 Minutes or people quote tweeting other people’s opinions of the interview. Regardless of whether you agree with what Poly is building or not, they figured out how to take a traditional interview and turn it into a ton of attention on social platforms. I would imagine that part of the reason there was so much extra press on X was clippers posting and retweeting videos of the interview. I’m unsure if people were paid to quote tweet and share info about it, but I lean toward yes. It seemed like it was part of a bigger strategy to spark a way bigger conversation.
Controlling the narrative online, even after the segment airs on television, is the second part of why this interview blew up the way it did. It also further legitimizes Polymarket for the current userbase and community. The reality is that 60 Minutes and traditional news networks still have clout and a legacy behind them, especially when you’re about to enter the American market.
The Big Takeaway
Shayne’s 60 Minutes appearance shows that even the most online companies still gain value from legacy media. It reaches an older, wealthier audience that podcasts and X don’t always capture. The segment also created a feedback loop on X, where clips amplified the narrative far beyond TV.
This week’s LOCK IN is about a video from FartSniffer69420 that blew up out of nowhere called If You See This The YouTube Algorithm is Bullshit. In this brand new channel, FartSniffer swears in the first two seconds and dogs on the YouTube algorithm the entire video, with no description and a thumbnail that’s literally just a screenshot of gameplay from a ten year old video game.
Looking through the 15,000 comments, one thing is clear. People felt like this video was a breath of fresh air, even though it feels very 2010’s YouTube. Are we about to see a return to Generation 1 YouTube?
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