I’d like to start by sharing an interesting legend.

After the battle of Waterloo between the French and English English, it was not quite clear who had won. This is because at that point in time, the propagation of information was anything but efficient. A famous banker at the time, popular among reptilian tinfoil conspiracy theorist, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, took advantage of the state of affairs and made money.

Unlike most people, he had access to the information that the English had won. Few other people knew this, so he had an edge. He bought assets other people rushed to sell at distressed prices and by the time the information has spread that the English actually won, he has amassed quite a fortune.

This is a somewhat extreme example (again, a legend, don’t take it as a historic fact) of how deficient propagation of information is a bad thing. Today, however, I will also explain that the other extreme, a highly efficient environment for the propagation of information can be equally destructive.

At the very beginning of the Internet, back when all of the gems that are currently worth 7 to 8 figures were available at the registration fee, most people had no idea that you can make money through this particular method. People such as Rick Schwartz found out themselves, through trial and error, that certain good domains were actually receiving direct navigation traffic. By monetizing that traffic and reinvesting their profits, they ended up building the portfolio they have today. But do keep in mind that most people did not have access to that information and therefore, early adopters were able to maintain their competitive advantage for several years.

Nowadays, investors such as yourself find themselves in a completely different environment. There are so many means of spreading information (and misinformation) these days that it is impossible for someone to maintain a competitive advantage that early domain adopters had for such an extended period of time. You might be tempted to think that since information is spread freely, this helps everyone grow as investors and have access to quality information. To a certain extent, this is true. Never has it been so easy to learn the basics and have as much information at your fingertips as you do now. However, I tend to consider the current status quo a two edged sword because even if you have an amazing original idea and managed to somehow obtain a competitive edge, it is only a matter of time until that information propagates.

The main difference between the environment you currently find yourself in and the environment early adopters leveraged to amass the portfolio they currently have is represented by the fact that unlike them, you do not have the luxury of time. If you do not act quickly and leverage whichever edge you have, you’ll quickly find out that the advantage in question has evaporated.

Adapt or die.