Social Media

Lots of consumer platforms — everything from Instagram to Youtube to Twitch — didn’t start out as ways for people to make money. They were initially about fun, status, connection and/or fame. They initially started as social networks, but as each grew their users realized they could build income off of them, which changed the trajectory of the comp... See more

This is a great example of how having an advanced degree — in this case, a law degree — can give creators a competitive edge in an extremely crowded market. It's not a coincidence that some of the biggest channels are run by former prosecutors and defense lawyers.

We're seeing this same phenomenon play out all across the Creator Economy. Some of the... See more

With billions of people using the major social platforms, and the people who remember a pre-social-media web increasing in age while decreasing as cultural force on the internet, we’re rapidly losing fluency in what the internet could look like. We’ve almost forgotten that links are powerful, and that restraining links through artificial scarcity i... See more

In 2006, the launch of YouTube promised a democratization of creativity. Anyone with an internet connection could now share their work with the world, bypassing traditional gatekeepers in publishing, music, and film. Over the next two decades, platforms like Netflix, Spotify, and Instagram further dismantled barriers, offering creators direct acces... See more

One of the most insidious effects of algorithmic curation is its redefinition of success. In the pre-digital age, greatness was measured by critical acclaim, cultural impact, or historical longevity. Today, it is measured by metrics: views, likes, shares, and subscriptions.

This shift has profound implications for creators. To succeed in an algorith... See more

In 1995, Putnam was concerned about teens who were alone 3.5 hours per day. But nowadays teens spend up to nine hours daily staring into screens, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology.

Meanwhile, the amount of time spent with friends has dropped markedly The number of social outings has declined too. Almost every me... See more