Find your niche

I randomly remembered a line from a Tamil song, and I kept thinking about it for a few minutes. I wanted to make a drawing out of that line. I opened Google Gemini, entered an elaborate prompt, and got a pretty good image as the result.

The line from the song says, “Travelling on a cart, why are you carrying your things on your head? Put them on the cart, and the cart will carry them for you.”

I have had zero training in drawing. When I was a school student, drawing basic flowcharts using rulers and pencils would take me hours. I do not consider myself inclined or experienced in any way when it comes to drawing as an art.

Despite my lack of exposure and training, I was able to make this image fairly easily.

That’s the kind of enablement, or lowering the bar, generative AI has been doing. It has not made an artist overnight out of me. But it has enabled me to express myself in ways that were impossible before.

Technology increases quality of life

Back in the days, when electricity was not available everywhere, if someone had to listen to a song, there was no way other than to ask someone nearby to sing for them. Once electricity, cassette players, recorded songs (such as from movies) became prevalent, no one asked their friends or family to sing for them. Most people were able to listen to recorded performances of singers like TM Soundararajan or Lata Mangeshkar.

We can imagine that mediocre singers whose songs were accepted as “good enough” suddenly had to compete with Lata Mangeshkar and became “not” good enough. The advent of technology changed the world so that the quality of acceptable singing went way up.

Technology lowers the bar to entry

Technology benefited the experts by making them more accessible. But technology also lowered the bar to entry. (Not the same technology, but technology nonetheless.)

I am a good example for that. Without the internet and free publishing platforms, I may not have written as much as I have written in the past 20 years. As a writer I am not exactly good, but I have the platform I need to communicate, to share my ideas with others.

Generative AI agents are now lowering the entry bar even further: I was able to make an image just by describing it in words.

The importance of niches in the modern life

On the one side, the entry bar keeps getting lower—anyone can participate. On the other side, good stuff (such as content) keeps getting more accessible. The vast majority of content—blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc—will likely not find any audience at all. If you were an emerging creator, this can make you feel powerless. You can create, but most people may not find your work compelling.They would rather enjoy the works of the experts in your field.

There is a way to opt out of these impossible conditions: deliberately stop trying to compete with global (or even regional) superstars on their turf. Instead, find a niche where they are not even present.

Niches are, by definition, less crowded. It becomes relatively easier to find someone who likes what you create. Niches also tend to have less competition. A crude example: Richard Lindsay probably didn’t have to snatch Dido’s or Taylor Swift’s listeners for his Recorder in the Corner song. Dido listeners are not very likely to be present in Richard Lindsay’s niche.

If you are wondering what to do in life, maybe start by finding your niche. Unfortunately, finding your niche will also feel like an impossible task. Keep doing what you love and study the kinds of engagement you get. Your niche will likely be visible from the patterns you see in the engagement you get. You’ll often discover your niche only in hindsight, so keep creating and sharing what you create. Once you find your niche it can become easier.

Are niches only for artists?

Though I only mentioned singing and writing, finding a niche can help people in other professions too. Everyone, including the likes of plumbers, engineers, and tour operators, can—and should—focus on finding a niche where they can excel.