β’ Everyone needs to work, but not everyone is passionate about it
β’ Are people working because they are passionate or because they need to?
β’ Some people have lost faith in the system or can't find a job
How the Creator Economy Evolved
β’ The first collab house was started in 2009
β’ People developed content as a means of self-expression and/or creativity
β’ Influencer wasn't considered a "normal" job or a way to make money
β’ Now it's changed
The Creator Economy Today
β’ Being an influencer is now mainstream
β’ It's considered normal and a viable way to build and scale a brand
β’ 2017 is when mainstream media started covering it
β’ Coinciding with the rise of Gen-Z
β’ Taylor is writing a book about creators
Can't Buy Your Way to Success as a Platform
β’ Triller spent a lot of money on attracting influencers including a "couple million" for @charlidamelio
β’ All the agreements are non-exclusive
β’ Influencers aren't dedicated to the platform in the way they are TikTok
Competing with Incumbents
β’ It's hard to compete with incumbents such as YouTube and Instagram
β’ TikTok had to spend $1B on marketing in 2019 just to be a viable competitor
β’ Competition is important for a "vibrant" creator economy
TikTok vs. YouTube
β’ 1 YouTube view > 1 TikTok view
β’ 1 YouTube subscriber > 1 TikTok subscriber
β’ TikTok is more about adding diversity to the creator's portfolio and showing the fandom across platforms
TikTok and Creators
β’ TikTok helped make the creator economy more friendly
β’ Platforms are beginning to realize they need to pay creator's for content
β’ Instagram, for example, hired a person just to manage meme accounts
TikTok and Creators (Part 2)
β’ Competition is an equalizer for creators
β’ Creators aren't a commodity, can't just replace them
Why Does Taylor Work at the NYTimes?
β’ NYTimes allows Taylor to report on content she couldn't report on independently
β’ They protect her from legal liability which allows her to break "big stories" and create meaningful journalism
β’ E.g. nytimes.com/2019/11/06/styβ¦
Social is Important Topic in Mainstream Media
β’ Social media platforms are omnipresent
β’ Platforms are consumed by billions
β’ The economic impact is in the trillions
β’ Just as important as hard news
Why Taylor Doesn't Join Substack?
β’ Taylor wants to focus on writing
β’ Starting a Substack means she would need to focus on audience growth
β’ She's a fan of the platform
Why Quibi Failed?
β’ Quibi was meeting a need that wasn't there
β’ IG Story and TikTok already produced quality short-form video
β’ Quibi material was made up of second-tier content
Watch the Interview Here
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1/ I grew my newsletter from 0 to 1,000 subscribers in 5 months. Here's how I did it.
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2/ When COVID began, I stopped traveling and taking meetings. My business partner, @ChrisBerryOH, encouraged me to create content. I didn't have a focus or an audience but did have experience with content creation.
3/ One of my current endeavors is running the Cleveland Tech Newsletter. Each week I'd interview a guest in the Cleveland Tech scene. I was going to apply that same lesson to my new newsletter.
1/ In 1975, Gary Dahl started selling rocks for $4. Six months later, he made $15 million dollars.
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2/ Gary Dahl was employed as an advertising executive in California. He was at a bar with his friends listening to them complain about their pets. He had an idea.
3/ He joked to them that they should have a rock as a pet. He decided to turn that joke into an actual product β "The Pet Rock"
β’ Deion is leaving the NFL Network as an analyst
β’ NFL Network offered him a contract with reduced pay
β’ Deion said no nypost.com/2020/08/11/deiβ¦
3/ Demise of Linear TV
β’ ESPN, NFL Network and any station that is overly reliant on linear is in trouble
β’ @ballmatthew explains it better than I can
1/ How I Increased My Twitter Following 205% in three months
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2/ Starting to Use Twitter
β’ On April 31st, I had 1,677 followers
β’ With the quarantine in full-swing I made it my goal to increase my Twitter following
β’ I spoke with my friend and Twitter Expert @mdudas
3/ Mike's Advice
β’ Mike gave me two tips
β’ Amplify Others
β’ Share unique thoughts
1/ What I learned from @davenemetz, founder of Bleacher Report, about the future of digital media.
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2/ Organic Search
β’ Dave started Bleacher Report in 2005
β’ The site was built around organic search
β’ The site grew into one of the largest sports media properties in the world because of SEO
3/ Shift to Social
β’ The next generation of media companies were built around social
β’ Companies like Buzzfeed built their audience by leveraging social networks such as Facebook
β’ Companies love to talk about distribution, but owning the audience is more important