What is the future of expertise?
Feed for Thought is for people who have invested deeply in building expertise — especially in institutional fields like medicine, academia, public service, and nonprofits — and are navigating today’s changing standards for credibility.
The double-edged sword of today’s digital culture is that everyone can contribute. Modern media has made it easier than ever to sell, entertain, and influence, and it’s fundamentally changed how authority is built.
Increasingly, people place more trust in messengers who feel relatable and accessible than in those with formal credentials alone. But this style of communication often contradicts what many experts were taught credibility should look like. Most subject matter experts spend years honing knowledge and rigor — not learning how to self-publish, make videos, or engage strangers online.
But here’s the truth: expertise and trust are no longer intertwined. In an attention economy, they are now earned separately. And most people are only skilled in one or the other.
With more competition than ever for people’s time and trust, the stakes are high. When experts are absent from today’s information marketplaces, audiences turn to what’s available, even if it’s sub-par. And without better alternatives, there’s no built-in mechanism pushing the overall quality of public knowledge upward.
We live in a media environment that’s evolving in real time. That means participation is no longer optional for institutions and experts who care about people’s access to quality information. But the old rules no longer apply. New skills, norms, and support systems are needed for experts to participate effectively in the spaces where people seek, access, and share information.
Making this shift doesn’t just serve public knowledge. It’s also vital professional development for individuals who have invested deeply in building expertise and want to sustain their impact in an increasingly volatile, competitive landscape.
Feed for Thought reimagines what credible communication looks like now through:
Essays on expertise, credibility, and participation at the intersection of media, culture, tech, and politics
Case studies on how public information campaigns actually work in practice
Conversations and interviews with experts around the world engaging effectively online
Practical resources for institutional experts navigating how to show up online with confidence and integrity
You can participate online without trying to be an influencer. If you’re a public servant, doctor, educator, researcher, humanitarian, or someone working between institutions and the public, this space is for you. Welcome!
About Jena Wuu
I help institutions and subject matter experts navigate today’s chaotic information ecosystem — where trust structures are shifting and meaningful expertise is harder to surface.
Just as business and media are already shifting toward decentralized communication models, primary sources of knowledge need new infrastructure, skills, and norms to participate effectively in the spaces where people seek, access, and share information.
My mission is to make this possible through practical support, training, insight, and community — tailored for public service organizations and the experts within them.
