How to "Go Direct"

Theory #38 | Owning your own message, even with intermediaries

People are talking about how surprising it is that Mark Zuckerberg, i.e. Zuck, went direct for Meta’s Llama-3 launch this week. What is “going direct” though?

A kind of literal definition — “Going direct” is when people or companies skip traditional media to connect directly with their audience. According to Lulu Meservey, who I’d call Silicon Valley’s “new PR” guru, going direct “means crafting and telling your own story, without being dependent on intermediaries.”

Hence some people are saying what Zuck did isn’t exactly “going direct” — because he doesn’t control the channels. Because he went through intermediaries, even if not legacy media. But going direct isn’t about exclusively speaking via channels you own — it’s simultaneously more philosophical and pragmatic than that.