Exploring the Creator Economy

Last summer, I searched “How chords work” and clicked on the first video result in Google. I found Michael New’s YouTube channel on music theory. 

After watching Michael unpack music theory in simple terms, I was able to understand why you dance to G major and weep in D minor. I’ve wondered about that for years after abandoning several music theory books and now I had an answer in minutes. After a couple of weeks, I was able to write my own music. 

This is one of my experiences of the impact a good online creator can have. 

I continue to witness how creators change how I learn, work, and live. I have -

• elevated my thinking from writers on Substack and many online courses,

• improved my workflow with Notion templates built by its users,

• expanded my worldview from non-mainstream podcasts, 

• shopped art from crafters I chat with on livestream.

The online creators are powering a new cultural renaissance

They will be the driving force for content, learning, social networks, Direct-To-Consumer brands, start-up ideas, and open source projects. 

The creator community is the new start-up school for entrepreneurship.

There is an irresistible future where we make a living by working on projects driven by curiosity and self-expression. We break out of the physical locations and work & learn with our tribe online, empowered by tech tools and the internet. 

How do we build that future? 

As a first step, there are a few topics I’m fascinated with and want to explore in-depth:

1. Create online learning communities. Interest-based and learning-driven online communities help creators improve craft, gain support and develop relationships for future partnerships. How do creators find online tribes to help them push forward the lonely creative pursuits?

2. Build infrastructure. Powered by the internet, the creators’ ecosystem will influence entertainment, education, and media. Platforms and marketplaces are just emerging. How do platforms align the incentives for creators and users? 

3. Compare notes with China. China has taken live-stream shopping and short video culture to a new level fueled by newfound creative liberty and consumerism. Its creator models are validated by massive market size. Are there new playbooks that can be learned for other markets? 

I plan to put my research analyst hat on and share what I learn here and on Twitter. I’m excited about this and look forward to your feedback.