We’re about to start live tweeting @Facebook presents The #WalrusTalks CanCon Online. Discussing Canadian content and the new online creator economy with Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning, @taraobrady, @heysciencesam, @EricGrenierTW!
@Facebook @RUZoneLearning @taraobrady @heysciencesam @EricGrenierTW “Contrary to popular belief, a blue check on social media doesn't mean you get paid by the platform to create content.” - @heysciencesam
“The way some creators focus their work so they can get paid ... is through brand partnerships.” - @heysciencesam
“I want to see more representation, but it's no wonder they're so few faces right now, given how hard it can be to make it sustainable.” - @heysciencesam
“I would love to see more support for Canadian creators through media funds and through more traditional methods... finding ways to support these very specific niches don't really exist right now, because we're in between media and we're in between artists.” - @heysciencesam
"My question is: what's next? How do we keep it up?" @heysciencesam
“I want us to think about content creators, as members of the gig economy.” - Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning
“Content creators are highly visible, they're highly personality driven, and they're very human, but when we think about labour. They have freelance work in the service of a large tech driven company. You’re at the whim of the algorithm.” - Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning
"Is it time for this industry going to grow up? Digital businesses have been protected from the rules of law, even social practices, because we want to nurture their growth"” - Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning
"If you think about toxic work environments for other kinds of jobs and then you look at the YouTube comment stream... that is a toxic environment." - Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning
"There's not a lot of transparency into terms of service, the fairness of the cut." Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning on payments to online content creators
"The last thing we are starting to see is organized labor. There are talks of streamer moves, boycotts on the part of collective groups of streamers, collective bargaining..." Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning
“The pandemic had me rethinking what I wanted from my work/life balance... so earlier this year I went back to begin an independent writer starting TheWrit.ca” - @EricGrenierTW
“It's a different kind of way to have a relationship with your audience... now I'm writing for a specific audience with specific content.” - @EricGrenierTW
“It's a different kind of platform to use, but as I have discovered now that I am more into this world of content creation is you have to be everywhere.” - @EricGrenierTW
“If you're trying to create something that is for Canadians, can it be done? It's only 38 million people, it's a small market.” - @EricGrenierTW
“The promise of web 1.0 was the democratization of information, egalitarian and largely divorced of the constraints of gender or geography.” - @taraobrady
"Then it all exploded. Digital media became media... people began to take things very seriously. We were given tools to measure our popularity and were told to prioritize SEL." @taraobrady
"Web 3.0, the rise of the Creator, is an attempt to monetize participation in an accountable transaction up front, in the open." @taraobrady
“Despite Bloomberg valuing the Creator economy at $20 billion, that wealth is still only reaped by the very few. The Twitch info leak, revealed the staggering reality that only 1% of its streamers make 50% of the service’s revenue.” - @taraobrady
“Even before the term was coined in 2011 (as claimed by Timothy Shey), consciously or not, anyone who interacted with the Internet was a creator.” - @taraobrady
"The twitch info leak released the startling reality that only 1% of its streamers make 50% of the services revenue. 50% means less than $28 per annum, and most do not even see a penny as there is a minimum $100 payout." - @taraobrady
"There is that expectation of always hustling, always innovating. But in my agreement of terms of use was the tacit understanding of the lack of control of my own livelihood." - @taraobrady
Our Q&A portion of @Facebook presents The #WalrusTalks CanCon Online is underway and our speakers are discussing which platforms they chose, and why, and the lack of options only fifteen years ago.
"2004/2005 there wasn't a lot of platforms available... blogs were this strange hobby that people did. In that way we thought it was about making friends... or as a writer I thought it was like a practice space." - @taraobrady
"I was inspired by what was happening in the States (with 538.com) ... I saw the media landscape in Canada in terms of media coverage and there wasn't anything similar." - @EricGrenierTW
"The subscription model didn't exist when I had my site over a decade ago. If you're lucky enough to have a bit of a platform to begin with, you can at least get something to be a bit more reliable." @EricGrenierTW
"I never went trying to be a creator. But I was really drawn to Instagram, it's where my friends were. I wanted to connect with people like them, science was fine to them but they didn't seek it out." @heysciencesam
"Science is always made to look like explosions, tough trucks and stuff like that. That did not vibe with me and I wanted to be able to make content that might resonate with people like me and my friends." @heysciencesam
"Someone will read out the names of everyone who was a subscriber, or there will be extra content [for subscribers]. It becomes hard to maintain that personal nature." - Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning on content creator's audience relationships
"There's an article by Kevin Kelly called "A Thousand True Fans." What if you had a thousand people who bought everything you made, every cd, every tshirt, could that be enough to live on?"
"That metric worked in a selling CDs out of the back of your van world. But now when you're getting a micro transaction, a fraction of a fraction of a penny, you need more than 1000 people." Richard Lakshman @RUZoneLearning
"I think for some people, some creators like me are more someone who likes working by themselves, having that ability to choose what you want to write about" @EricGrenierTW
"Smartphones, specifically the iPhone, was about putting technology in everyone's hand... But what is the determinant of those audiences actually seeing you?" @taraobrady
"While we have access to basic technology, do we have access to lighting, editing software, to have the time and the mental capacity to take on all these new skill sets?" @taraobrady
"There's so many ... costs that the creators take on, that whether or not they realize it by turning on that app." @taraobrady
"...there are aspects of this that we can teach. We can teach how to do research and strategize... Sometimes it's a viral piece that catches on and it might not be what you thought it was going to be." - Richard Lachman @RUZoneLearning
"There is a trend towards low production. I have a really nice lav mic, because of Tik Tok I use my wired air buds ... because that's the vibe." @heysciencesam
"Try things out. Test things out. Be ready to fail and shout into the ether ... the biggest barrier is the time." @heysciencesam
"Especially in science, people are sick of the "stage on the stage. That's not helpful and that's where we filled up with pandemic communications. People want to be heard and want to converse." @heysciencesam
"Platforms shift over time. There's content other than gaming on Twitch now ... the demographic of who is on Instagram is changing year by year." Richard Lachman @RUZoneLearning
"What resources would you like to see in this emerging field as it continues to grow and really have an impact on our economy?" @jenniferhollett of @thewalrus
"There is tons of government grant support for people doing science outreach and other forms of education outside of sciences... there's not a lot of support for people like me doing things independently." @heysciencesam
"The path towards the Canadian voice, the path towards which voices are heard, getting an audience is not identical." - Richard Lachman
"Thinking about regulation, funding, discoverability, which is a thing we talk about, a lot of times with very little understanding it feels like on the part of government in terms of how this actually happens is very challenging" Richard Lachman @RUZoneLearning
"Truthfully, traditionally food is up against the challenge that it is run largely by women." @taraobrady
"I frequently get people, when I write for @globeandmail and my story is behind the paywall, I get angry letters sent to me, not to the newspaper, asking if I can email them the story." @taraobrady
"Even though it is that paywall that is paying me. I'm not on staff so I don't have those benefits or the security." @taraobrady
Thank you for following along with our live tweeting of @Facebook presents The #WalrusTalks CanCon Online! Thank you also to Richard Lachman of @RUZoneLearning, @taraobrady, @heysciencesam, @EricGrenierTW!
If you found tonight’s event engaging, please subscribe to the events newsletter from @thewalrus to stay up to date: thewalrus.activehosted.com/f/13 #WalrusTalk
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