Dawn Of The Disruptors: How Web3 Is Here To Rescue The Creator Economy
A Generation Groomed for Creating
Ah, to be a “creative” in 2023. Ask any creative what they love doing and they’ll likely tell you it’s “creating”. So what could be better than expressing yourself for a living and churning out reams of authentic content? I mean you have your own channel! It’s more than your parents could have shaken a remote at. It’s a shot at fame and a lift into the limelight, a world of adoring fans, and a coterie of devout followers.
Video created by content creators has arguably become the “TV” today’s youth prefer to tune into, with a whopping 54% of Gen Y and Gen Z saying they’d rather consume YouTube content over standard television, according to a study by the Pew Research Center conducted in 2021.
Digital video platforms allow creators of all kinds to shine and share their talents. Whether you are an expert, athlete, artist, musician, or spiritual guru who uses your own channel to “channel”, you can now bestow yourself with your own show. It’s a unique opportunity brought about by the advent of what is now collectively known as social media. As a creator, you have a chance to rise to the top of your niche in this mass-media meritocracy. However, in this era of prodigious creation, are there hidden obstructions thwarting your desires to be seen, loved, celebrated, and paid? Is it the best creators that rise to the top, or the ones who obey the algorithmic gods? This landscape of approx 200 million creators is now known as “the creator economy”.
To understand the rapid growth of popularity of being a content creator or influencer, and understand the mechanisms that underpin the impending migration to Web3 discussed later in this article, we have to look at a few key factors.
1. A generational shift in values
A 2020 study by LinkedIn found that Gen Y and Gen Z prioritize flexible work arrangements and better work-life balance. The study also found that Gen Y and Gen Z are motivated by deriving a sense of purpose from their work that aligns with their interests. This has led to many a son or daughter not following in their parent’s footsteps and instead wanting to be more entrepreneurial and strike out on their own. More traditional career paths don’t necessarily allow Gen Y and Z to make a career doing what they love, which is important to them. That and the many examples of successful influencers and digital celebrities have fueled new desires.
2. The age of exposure to devices is getting younger
Parents are giving smartphones to their sons and daughters at an increasingly younger age. According to a study conducted by Common Sense Media in 2019, the average age children are given smartphones is 12 years old, and iPads 9 years old. That is when they receive a device of their own, however, I’ve personally witnessed many-an-iPad standing in as the all-singing all-dancing babysitter to easily distracted and less easily pacified toddlers.
3. A further behavioral shift took place during the pandemic
One only needs to look at the popular teleconferencing app Zoom to see how many people took to their screens and stayed there during the pandemic. Zoom reported a surge in daily meeting participants from 10 million in December 2019 to 300 million in April 2020. That’s a 30x increase in 4 months. With many offices going virtual and many families choosing digital entertainment through streaming services and online training over in-person meetups, society at large became more accepting of digital events and experiences.
4. The importance of the digital over analog “flex”
The year 2020 also saw a rise in the sale of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). With well-off celebrities not being able to show off their bling in person due to lockdowns, many started snapping up and displaying the digital art pieces as status symbols. “It’s really interesting to see how these digital assets are becoming the new status symbols, replacing physical objects like cars and jewelry,” said Paris Hilton in an interview for CNBC in March 2021. A handful of people might see your “Roley” on your wrist, but your 2 million followers can see your Bored Ape NFT on your profile picture.
5. The rise of interest in digital ownership and in-game tokens
In 1997, a company called Origin Systems released an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) called Ultima Online. What made this game extra special wasn’t the graphics, the story, or the game design. It was the fact that this game was the first instance of being able to use real-world money to buy and sell virtual items, and is widely considered to be the precursor to the virtual economies we see today. Early iterations of real-to-virtual commerce saw players purchasing skins for their in-game characters in Valve’s Counter-Strike and digital artists selling them. This trend has continued with more recent games such as Fortnite where players can use their V-Bucks to buy items instead of earning them. Video games are grooming a generation to the concept of virtual ownership and digital purchases and that behavior is beginning to seep past the video game world and into the digital world at large.
6. The decentralization of everything
We think of decentralization as a term related to digital currencies and the blockchain. For those new to the lingo, the blockchain can be described as a distributed digital ledger that records all transactions in a transparent and publicly accessible manner. However, decentralization is more of a mindset and approach that extends beyond technology and can be seen playing out across society. It is an echo of our changing values as people. We are, I believe, intrinsically seeking less top-down control and more agency and autonomy. Allow me to illustrate:
School: Centralized learning from specific teachers on a handful of subjects.
Online courses: Decentralized learning that can be done from anywhere to access any teachers and learn any subject.
Private software: Software created by companies where the code remains hidden and inaccessible and the software comes at a price to use.
Open-source software: Software that pulls back the curtain to expose the code in order to allow everyone to improve upon it and build upon it or gives it out for free, creating a fanbase, community, and loyalty.
Traditional taxis: Centralized transportation where a car is hired from an official taxi rank.
Uber: Decentralized transport that allows anyone with a car to become a taxi driver.
Hotels: Centralized lodging in a building designed for accommodation.
AirBnB: Decentralized lodging allowing virtually any home to become a hotel.
Is The Future Bright, Or Is That Just Your Screen?
Despite the glamorous veneer of video vindication and the whiff of inbound influencer fame, only a minority rise through the smattering of social media to fulfill their dreams as content creators or influencers alone. Content creation is still however on the rise, due to a decades-long uptick in the digitization of society. This macro-sociocultural trend has had an indelible effect on how we as people, of all ages, spend our time. In fact, if you share moments from your day in your stories on your social media, you are also part of the content creation machine.
It’s not all fame and fortune though. According to a 2021 survey by the Influencer Marketing Hub, 60% of YouTubers reported earning less than $500 per month from their channel; hardly enough to stay afloat in today’s economy. Another survey by Influencer Marketing Hub in 2021 found that only 9.6% of influencer respondents earned over $500 a month and only 2.2% earned over $10,000 a month.
“I have to obey this sort of monster we feed constantly. I do. There’s a trade-off. We’ll let you create your artistic content but you have to give us a little part of your soul and do stuff you don’t want to” said Chris Ramsay, a YouTuber with 7.11 million followers who has uploaded 1,000 videos to his channel over the last decade, yet feels stone-walled from his audience due to algorithms preventing his videos from being seen.
“Everybody’s like we need to get to the thing, right now, put it in my veins, like instantly. I need to get gratification and I need to get this satisfaction constantly, it needs to be plugged into me! Plug me into the matrix, make me feel something instantly, constantly, forever, increasingly, all the time…dude that is so exhausting”, says Ramsay.
Creators are forced to appease the changing algorithms to even reach their own audience. Platforms like YouTube keep the vast majority of the profits that creators generate and with more channels being demonetized or de-platformed altogether, creators are realizing that even the connection to the very audience they poured years into cultivating isn’t owned by them and can be held hostage.
“I’ve had videos that I’ve poured my heart and soul into, but for some reason, they just don’t seem to be reaching my own subscribers,” says Jenna Marbles. This sentiment is echoed by an increasing number of creators.
Gizmodo mentions that top influencers could previously receive up to $35,000 in bonuses for a reel on Facebook and Instagram, however, Meta recently announced no more monetization for reels across its two major platforms.
The Dawn Of The Disruptors
If you look at the numbers and trends, it’s clear. More and more creators are either being demonetized or having their content hidden from their own audiences. Even when they weren’t, the majority of their revenue was going to the platforms, playing out the cycle of bad-record-deal all over again.
It’s not all grim though. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention and all the challenges and conditions mentioned in this article have created a perfect storm for those pioneering and visionary platforms that can solve these problems and soothe these pains. As a tangent, many moons ago when I lost my job and my house overnight. At the time, it was a terrible disruption, however, it ended up being the catalyst that became the greatest blessing in disguise, allowing me to create an entirely new reality for myself. Web3 is the monetized disruptor poised to lead the creators to the promised land and in my research, there is only one platform equipped to solve all these pains simultaneously. So with the aim of not turning this article into a dissertation, I’ll cut to the chase.
“Burnout and entrepreneur suicide are very real,” says Chris Hawk, founder of StarStake a new Web3 platform set to empower creators and their communities. After losing several friends to suicide, Hawk started the “I Am Worthy” project and “Generation Hero” to promote awareness of the importance of mental health for entrepreneurs. “In many ways, I feel all my previous ventures contained fragments of what has now become StarStake. We had the right intention, but it’s only now with Web3 that we have been able to create the right suite of solutions that creators need.”
StarStake can be seen in a multiplicity of ways. On one hand, it’s a gamified loyalty-building ecosystem that nurtures casual followers into highly incentivized superfans. “We do this through Fan Rewards. Now a fan gets rewarded for all the fan stuff they’re already doing like sharing, referring, purchasing and collecting, building up their FanScore and unlocking perks, privileges, even a percentage of creators’ sales”, says Hawk. “Gone are the days of liking, commenting, subscribing, and getting nothing.”
StarStake is also a full Web3 creative suite and marketplace. Creators can easily build a variety of Web3 assets in minutes that contain embedded smart contracts that distribute rewards to top-performing fans and can even contain access to redeemable products. “Now a creator can promote their latest album, book, movie, course, or product and tokenize access to things like backstage passes, in-person events, or exclusive experiences. Creators can then charge a premium for this access or include the access as prizes to be won by their most dedicated fans.” This allows creators to build value packages inside of their very own “BrandClubs”, allowing each piece of content to generate much more revenue than before while giving fans a deeper connection to the things they’ve wanted but couldn’t previously get.
The question on your mind now might be how much StarStake costs to use? “StarStake has no upfront costs or monthly fees,” says Hawk. “We wanted to create the most empowering, mutually-rewarded ecosystem ever designed for creators and their communities.” Unlike the power-plays of the Web2 tech giants, creators keep the majority of everything they generate and can even choose to share their earnings with their fans, incentivizing loyalty like never before. Seamless onboarding and no-tech-background-needed usability ensure the heavy lifting is done for you. As a creator, you can focus on creating what you love and as a fan, you can focus on supporting your favorite creators to stardom and getting in on the action.
A Tide Is Turning
It’s my belief that the big tech platforms will rue the day they took their devoted content creators for granted. Web3 is allowing creators to connect directly with their audience and platforms like StarStake allow creators to thrive from their passions instead of being financially neglected and slaves to algorithms. A new Web3 universe of potential awaits creators and a golden day of collaborative commerce is dawning. Whether you are a creator or a consumer, a brand or a fan, Web3 is here to answer your prayers for equanimity, and platforms like StarStake are here to give you a new home amongst the stars.
