I think about this topic at least once a week—usually after I post another article into the digital void and get minimal views. Honestly, I write because I have dreamed of writing my entire life. Analytics are interesting, but they’re not my main motivation. Still, I can’t help but wonder: what would blogs, articles, newsletters—and even platforms like Spotify—look like without analytics?
What if Medium, Notion, Substack, and similar platforms didn’t show views, likes, or engagement metrics? How would we know if something was “good”? How would we find useful information if nothing was pushed to us by algorithms or shared directly by others?
While I think about this across many creative fields, the example that comes up most often for me is music.
What if the Billboard charts and award shows didn’t exist? That idea alone kind of breaks my brain. I imagine we’d return to a more regional experience of music discovery—something closer to the local radio era. You’d hear about great music through word of mouth or someone in your area, not an algorithm. Discovery would depend more on your physical network and legacy media like TV or radio. Maybe we’d even see national concert broadcasts emerge—modern versions of old-school variety shows—to help spread the word.
In that world, your physical presence and social clout might matter even more—almost like running a personal brand in e-commerce. Without reviews, likes, or comments, we’d rely more on curated recommendations from trusted sources. But would that be any better?
Personally, I don’t think so. In fact, I think it would be worse.
Without analytics, image might matter more than substance. Without data points like streams or chart positions, legacy media would likely reclaim control of what gets attention—amplifying image over authenticity. Ironically, I think today’s algorithm-driven platforms are slightly more democratic. They at least give music a chance to find listeners without relying solely on traditional gatekeepers.
So, what about writing?
What if articles like this had no view counts, no likes, no upvotes—just comments? Would people still write? Would the homepage of your favorite blogging platform be a shuffled feed of recent posts? Would the Tim and Joe’s of the world still write, or would they pivot to Instagram and YouTube?
I suspect many popular writers would shift to other formats. A lot already cross-post their content—blogs with videos, Instagram posts, podcasts, and so on. But I also believe some people would stick with it. Great writing would still exist—it would just be harder to find. Platforms might feel more like digital libraries or archives, where you browse through folders instead of chasing engagement metrics.
Honestly, that might even be kind of fun—like digging through a treasure trove of ideas where everyone starts on equal footing. Then again, let’s be real: platforms like LinkedIn would probably still find a way to track something.
Anyway, those are just my thoughts.
What do you think a world without analytics would look like?
Would we all self-combust without our view counts?
Would I still listen to music?
Would you still write?
I think if we removed the monetary incentives, we’d see fewer writers overall. But part of me believes that third places like coffee shops or community spaces could help fill that gap. Imagine a local coffee shop hosting a monthly creative writing group. That kind of setting could encourage people to write purely for the joy of it. A few years ago, a friend of mine was part of a small writing group that read short stories together and offered feedback. It wasn’t about publishing or profit—it was just about writing. And honestly, I think that’s the way forward.
I think there is some lost art of doing things just to enjoy them. Just writing because you want to say something is valuable, even if it’s not meant to have a direct ROI for a specific goal.
Maybe if there were less current encouraging people to create for monetary reasons, people would be more likely to create?