We live in a digital gold rush.
With so many opportunities to capitalize on new online trends, it’s no surprise that young people who grew up surrounded by technology and the internet are at the forefront of these emerging markets. With the internet has come a plethora of platforms and digital marketplaces, all competing for the interest of these creative minds, and out of this came the creator economy.
The creator economy refers to a broad spectrum of independent creators who independently build businesses to monetize a skill, an idea, or even their personality. Alongside these independent developers, there are digital platforms that serve many different categories of the creator economy: from video creation platforms to platforms for selling homemade products to platforms for independent video game creation.
Where traditional employment is often stressful, competitive and increasingly undesirable for Gen Z, the creator economy has emerged at just the right time to offer an alternative way of life. An opportunity to build something from scratch for yourself on your own terms.
While in previous generations the most common entrepreneurial opportunities for younger people were in physical labor such as mowing lawns, cleaning driveways, delivering newspapers, and so on; Gen Z has found their own way of using the internet to take control of their future.
Countless influencers on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and TikTok have built communities of thousands and in many cases millions of people who consume their content as entertainment; and they generate large amounts of money from these communities through advertising, merchandise sales, sponsorships, and so on.
Young game developers are generating 6, 7 and 8 figure revenues on platforms like Roblox by creating virtual experiences for their own gaming communities.
People create Etsy shops to start businesses around numerous crafts and projects, be they t-shirts, candles, soaps, decorations or anything else.
As a result, high levels of independence, entrepreneurial skills and spirit are developed at a younger age and important life lessons for Gen Z are learned earlier. I strongly believe that the next generation of unicorns will most likely be founded by people from this cohort of Creator Economy participants.
The creator economy works particularly well in markets where content is king: entertainment.
For example, when creating video games, it can take AAA studios two to three years to create and release a title. With Roblox, a user-generated game often lasts less than a year, and with thousands of independent developers, this results in very high content flow. In a world where people are constantly looking for new entertainment, this constant flow of content can be very engaging and attract high demand, which only feeds back into the cycle of attracting more creators, and so it continues.
Likewise, in video creation, the time it takes to create a movie or TV series is way, way longer than the time it takes a creator to shoot a TikTok or YouTube video, and again, there are millions of people out there who do this. This means that the flow of content is updated quickly and offers viewers new entertainment.
That’s not to say that this form of entertainment will replace traditional television shows or movies, but it is certainly a form of entertainment that is differentiated and that many people enjoy in addition to, and at least in part as, a replacement.
As the workforce continues to grow towards an automation trend, the creator economy will continue to grow in tandem. People who would otherwise have performed tasks that will be performed by machines in the future will have the opportunity to focus on a passion, and this automation will lead to more purposeful work for more people that will usher in the creator economy. I think that’s the best way to think about it: the creator economy is built for now and the future. It creates more purposeful work and opens up opportunities for people from all walks of life.
I can’t wait to see what new industries will open up to the creator economy over time and the impact that will have on our culture and happiness.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own and not those of Inc.com.
Comments are closed.