Today, credibility and affinity are primarily built by people—individual voices—rather than brands.—Ev Williams, Medium

Williams wrote those words this week while explaining why he was winding down his investment in original publications on Medium and offering all editorial employees buyouts. In his view, the era of publications is ending. It’s all about the people now.

Something along these lines has become conventional wisdom in the media business. Many industry watchers now believe the best way to get people to trust you is to go solo and become a big personality.