Thread by @balajis

Have you ever known something to be true before it was printed in a reputable publication?

Maybe you're a researcher, or a founder, or just a citizen who put up a post that became a news story.

If so, you're a pre-headline person. You knew it to be true *before* the headline.

I think of pre-headline people as a key demographic.

For some, it's all just rumor till they see it acknowledged in the pages of a publication they respect. Still others of course believe anything, and have no filter.

But the pre-headline person knows facts before the headline.

In a real sense, all news starts with pre-headline people. Because they knew something to be true *before* they saw it widely acknowledged.

It's hard to be a pre-headline person in every area, of course. But you might have to be in areas that are material.

You can categorize your interlocutors in this way.

1) Post-headline people: only believe things that are already in print

2) No filter people: forget it, they'll believe anything :)

3) Pre-headline people: will listen to a rational argument and look at primary data

In terms of workflow, you should figure out what is true with a group of pre-headline people, get it published in a reputable outlet (or build your own), and only then discuss with post-headline people.

Btw, post-headline people are sometimes very intelligent folks. They just have a strong filter on what premises they'll accept.

In crypto terms, they are waiting for many more confirmations before believing something. Publication in a reputable outlet serves as +N confirmations.