Who is a Content Creator?
The archetypal content creator has a very definitive profile for most people who give the matter any thought. They’re young, certainly — young enough to remind a certain cohort that they haven’t been young in some time. They’re energetic and enthusiastic, bringing verve to what they do. Certainly they’re ambitious, in choosing to embrace the challenge of trying to create.
What they’re usually not, at least in our thinking, is us. Not many people would think of themselves as creative, full stop, let alone someone creating content for anyone else to see. It’s a difficult thing to square, especially given that we’re constantly exposed to people who excel at creativity across the many screens that fill our lives.
But our assumptions do us a disservice. The truth is that we are contributing to the creative sphere all the time by posting and sharing to social media. Our work can engage and interest others as much as anything created by so-called professionals, so why wouldn’t we be content creators, especially given how the internet has democratized so many roles once seen as restricted?
Being a content creator doesn’t require a change in how we approach our lives or an extra effort in how we capture the experiences to share with audiences. All that is needed is a change in how we see ourselves and how we regard what we post to social media. Our pictures and videos aren’t just disposable media — they’re our contributions to a greater collection of work, a body that draws in audiences and keeps them coming back.
Valuing our own work requires taking the proper steps to make sure that others value it as well. Everyone should be cautious of having their work misappropriated or stolen, because the further it is removed from the source, the more the original creator is erased. And the odds are that others are looking to use someone else’s work because they see the opportunity for their own benefit, which comes at your expense.
Creators also shouldn’t let anyone tell them that their content has no value, or that the only option they have is to offer it up to platforms for free. The chances are, there is an audience for what you create, and a group of people willing to reward you for your work. All that anyone needs is the right platform and opportunity to create and reach an audience.
To learn more about Milio, MilStage, MilDeals, join the RightsLedger Telegram channel.
