TechScape: want to ‘be your own boss’ online? Here’s why it’s not so simple
In this week's newsletter: the Creator Economy' is billed as a way for artists to directly monetise their work - but in reality it simply puts more power in the hands of big tech
Every March, Silicon Valley executives, Wall Street investors, hackers, digital designers and other creatives meet in Austin, Texas, to discuss the future of the internet. Most years, this involves various panels forecasting social media trends, startups promoting themselves for increased funding, and endless debates around how useful tech companies actually are to society. This year, however, there seemed to be only one subject on most people's lips: the Creator Economy". Indeed, at this year's South by Southwest festival, there were dozens of panels on it, ranging from giving content creators Autonomy" to how brands can get in on it too.
Much like NFTs, Crypto and Web3, the Creator Economy" feels like a phenomenon without an obvious root, on which marketing agencies, PR firms and the tech industry have become fixated. Some argue that the term has a long history, harking back to the early days of the internet, when Stanford Engineering professor Paul Saffo used the phrase to refer to animators and illustrators, in what he considered to be a new, wholly digital economy. In recent years, however, the term has been liberally used by Silicon Valley tech CEOs and venture capital funds, in reference to content creators such as YouTubers and podcasters earning money through a hybrid of brand partnerships, ad revenue and subscription platforms such as Patreon, as well as influencers on consumer facing platforms advertising products and services directly through TikTok and Instagram.
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