The “knowledge” in “knowledge payment” is as much about “sharing” as the “sharing economy”

1

In “ knowledge payment ”, the “knowledge” component is actually not that much - probably the same as the “sharing” component in “ sharing economy ”.

The idea that knowledge requires payment is nothing new; you only need to look at the average price of school district housing to understand.

The problem is that learning knowledge is not only expensive, but also extremely difficult. Once you leave school, few adults are willing to spend money to suffer. If those professional teachers who truly understand systematic knowledge and educational practice were thrown onto " Fenda ", " Dedao " and " Himalaya ", they probably wouldn't be able to sell many courses.

The focus of “sharing economy” is “economy”, and the focus of “knowledge payment” is “payment”.

2

The rise of the "knowledge payment" trend has been marked by several landmark events. The sudden popularity of Fenda in just one month is one example, and the sales of “Li Xiang’s Business Insider” on Dedao for 20 million is another.

Before the suspension of operations , the top vested interests on Fenda included Wang Sicong, Bu Jia V, Zhang Ziyi, Wang Feng and the parrot Shi Hang whose popularity soared due to " The Rap of China ".

It is hard to say that they convinced users to pay based on their extraordinary knowledge - the price of asking Wang Sicong a question is 4,999, which is enough to pay for a year of study at a Chinese university.

But don’t forget, if it weren’t for platforms like Fenda, ordinary people would never have the chance to talk to these celebrities in their entire lives. The cost of doing so is just an affordable amount of money, and you can even make it back from those who share it.

In comparison, the success of "Li Xiang Business Insider" seems to be an outlier. But let’s imagine this question: if there was no recommendation from Jack Ma himself on the day of launch, could Li Xiang have achieved sales of 20 million based solely on the “knowledge” sold by him?

Spending a few thousand yuan to talk to China's richest young people, or spending a few hundred yuan to share a "business leader" with China's most admired business idol - perhaps this is the real motivation that drives people to "pay". What they consume is not "knowledge" but a cheap satisfaction that puts them on an equal footing with those in higher positions.

The success of "Li Xiang" has obviously provided important experience for the entire industry. On another platform that mainly promotes "knowledge payment", the slogan of the most popular paid column is: "The column that Ma Huateng also reads."

3

In an animal society, the dominant group is always the minority. For the remaining members, they may also gain a false dominance by imitating the behavior of the dominant person, which is called "dominance mimicry."

In animals other than humans, dominance often means "mating rights." Therefore, "high-level imitation" is often manifested in the form of sexual behavior. In South America, some male monkeys use their erect penises to intimidate monkeys of lower status in the group. In these groups, zoologists have found that some female monkeys have evolved penis-like organs. These pseudo-penis have no practical function, but by displaying them, they can create an illusion of power.

Humans didn't evolve this kind of fake penis, but well-packaged and glorified "high-position mimicry" behavior remains widespread. Zoologist Morris summed it up this way: "Status symbols are things you can afford; high-status imitations are things you can't quite afford but buy anyway."

The fashion industry is the most typical example, where the motivation to imitate "status symbols" is the most basic driving force of this industry. In the 1920s, the Western middle class was freed from manual labor and fair skin was no longer scarce. Therefore, under Chanel's advocacy, dark skin became the new fashion, with the reason being: "Only the wealthy class can enjoy sunbathing on the beach regularly."

Soon after, people invented the method of "tanning" through artificial light, making this "imitation" cheaper.

4

The business model based on "high-level imitation" has been proven to be successful. The American Express Centurion Black Card may be one of the most unattainable "status symbols" of our time. Of course, if you really want to have a "black card" of your own, there is a way.

The "Global Black Card" imitates the appearance of the "Centurion Black Gold Card" very realistically. Just like a real black card, the Global Black Card also promises to use a personal "butler" to arrange users' transportation, hotels and travel itineraries. The difference is that the most discounted hotel that the "Global Black Card" can enjoy is Super 8 . Despite its notoriety in the Internet circle, it is said that it has quite a few paying users .

Compared with handbags and custom-made clothes, "knowledge payment" as a "high-level imitation" is closer to "Global Black Card". It is not enough to show off to the outside world and satisfy more of the payer's inner sense of superiority.

Hu Jianbiao, the creator of "Talk Well" - a "knowledge payment" product on "Himalaya", has a good summary of this mentality: " The most important driving force behind the wave of knowledge payment is anxiety ... In this era, we have seen too many beautiful things worth pursuing, and we know that we have the opportunity to obtain these beautiful things... But unfortunately, there are too many things worth pursuing. I want to scratch them, but I can't scratch them, which makes me very anxious."

There are two ways to deal with anxiety: achieve the anxious goal, or simply eliminate the anxiety itself.

The difference is: only the latter is a result that can be bought with money.

5

I paid a heavy price before fully understanding this consumption motivation.

Once, a young man with almost no experience in the Internet industry asked me through Online what " Internet operation " was - this is as difficult as hoping to learn to swim by reading a book. My advice to her is: 1. Read one or two books on Internet operations systematically; 2. Join an Internet company and work in operations for a period of time.

As a result, I received a complaint from this user who felt that my advice was not helpful to her. In retrospect, I think my suggestions were not unhelpful, but too practical, so that instead of alleviating, they exacerbated the user's anxiety.

A threshold that is too high is not good, but a threshold that is too low can also cause problems. In fact, bookstores in major airports across the country broadcast various speeches and business training materials by Jack Ma himself all year round. But in comparison, the middle class seems to be more interested in the paid columns on "Get". This may be because when we find that anyone can spend a small amount of money to establish a relationship with Jack Ma, such "high-level imitation" loses its meaning.

As Woody Allen famously joked: "I'd never want to join a club that would accept people like me." The secret to a club's success is that it must be able to keep some people out. The popularity of some "club"-style products like " Xiao Miquan " can prove this. The payment threshold of these clubs is significantly higher than the average level of rewards on official accounts . They allow you to spend money to get a front-row position closer to those in "high positions".

6

It is not difficult to understand why "repeat purchase" has become the biggest pain point of current "knowledge payment" products.

There is no panacea for anxiety. One second, you have joined the club that is "willing to accept you" as you wish; the next second, it will drive you to continue looking for the next club you can apply for.

If the same internal motivation drives "knowledge payment" and the fashion industry, then "knowledge payment" will definitely experience the alternation of popular and outdated trends just like the fashion industry.

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