Politics and Power Trump Transparency—Strategic Information Is a Startup’s Real Weapon

In digital advertising, the power used to lie with publishers—those who owned the audience or digital space. As technology matured and targeting became programmatic, data shifted the power rapidly to those who could aggregate and use information in novel ways. The most successful advertisers not only tracked who saw which ads, but found ways to link external and internal data, creating cross-site insights and retargeting systems most publishers couldn’t touch. Meanwhile, even large tech platforms like Facebook were forced to adjust as external advertisers developed targeting mechanisms more precise than the platforms’ own.

The lesson is clear: controlling key data and relationships, and understanding the invisible movement of pricing, demand, and attention, enables outsized leverage over competitors still playing by old rules. In both corporate and community contexts, information asymmetry continually trumps formal authority, at least until the dominant actor adapts.

Review your roles and social circles, and write down where you actually have unique insight, plus where you’re currently in the dark. Reach out to possible allies before you face a crunch, and don’t be afraid to trade small favors for bigger information later. In negotiations or group projects, keep your core data close and observe who else is playing to win. Information isn’t power until it’s matched with action and an understanding of the real game at play.