Balancing FOMO, FOMU and FOMO again

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Balancing FOMO, FOMU and FOMO again (August 10, 2026)

BY ROB BEELER

Clever me – I had this term pop into my head this week: “Dopamine Industrial Complex” and prayed that somehow I would be first. Nope. Ah well. It did send me down the rabbit hole of people who have used the term, and I came to a realization that all of you have had, but I refuse to accept: there’s no way out. 

People consume more and more stimuli from whatever screen is within eyesight, and some of this is by design. The social platforms have designed their apps to encourage and feed addictive habits. Don’t blame the kids; their brains have been hacked, as have their parents. 

We are all appalled and at the same time, jealous. If through some weird twist of evolution, people became addicted to our websites, enjoying every consent banner, floating video, interstitial, and clickbait article, our companies would enjoy printing the ad dollars floating in. Our problem with the FOMO social media creates is that consumers have no FOMU: Fear Of  Missing Us. 

It is therefore difficult to plot a path forward. We need attention, or we die. We can’t beat these platforms at their own game, and playing their game has always been a losing proposition and will continue to be so. People don’t actually need more things clamoring for their attention. It’s causing harm. FOMO should be Fear OF Media Overload. Wait: that’s us! Shit.

There is a countermove media companies are making, but maybe not recognizing it for what it truly is. Diversifying revenue has always been a publisher strategy, but it has grown in importance as ad dollars and traffic grow less predictable. Some of these strategies, like in-person events and community-focused activities, are what people need and a place for us to grow. As I’ve said time and time again, human connection and trust are our future. The Dopamine Industrial Complex must be stopped, and we must be part of the solution.

Here’s what you need to know this week… 

  • ICYMI: Al Letson will be joining us as a keynote for Base.Camp La Jolla! Al Letson is a journalist, screenwriter, and performer. He has watched trend after trend in content and advertising run red hot and then go cold. His answer has never been to tie everything he has to the trend. He looks instead at what will last and what is coming next. Al will share his story. He’ll also discuss why this country keeps swinging between extremes and how you stay steady while it does.

  • The room is starting to fill up for Base.Camp La Jolla this October! This week, we’ve added new publisher commitments from People Inc, Cox Automotive, Yahoo, WebMD, The Globe and Mail, PlayOn Sports, PGA TOUR, New York Post, MyFitnessPal, and EverydayHealth Group. Raise your hand today if you want to join us. The earlier you do, the more we can work with you to get you to California… and the more influence you’ll have over what topics are included in the agenda.

  • We’re also thrilled to announce that publishers from Telegraph Media Group, Better Collective, Washington Post, Reach PLC, Skyscanner, and PGA TOUR have committed to join us this November at Base.Camp Madrid. Early registration is crucial for this Base.Camp, as available hotel rooms are limited due to an NFL game that has been scheduled in Madrid on that Sunday. Let us know you’re interested today to secure your spot.

Want to get caught up on everything we’ve published? Start here.

Here’s the latest…  

  • From Hazel Broadley: As Google search blue links face extinction, what does AI-first search mean for publishers?
    The blue link may not be vanishing overnight, but that’s exactly why the industry risks underestimating the change. While links may still be visible – neatly arranged around the AI’s answer – visibility is not the same as value. If the user no longer needs the link, it risks becoming irrelevant to the ecosystem which once made it powerful.

  • From Hazel Broadley: From prompts to real orders: helping publishers get agent-ready
    Agentic AI is one of the most talked-about topics in advertising right now, and one of the least understood. An LLM can happily draft an RFP response in seconds, but turning buyer demand into repeatable, revenue-generating campaign orders is a much bigger job. The gap between those two things is where most publishers currently sit.

A full list of our 2026 events we’re involved in, all in one nice little package:

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