Creator Economy changes everything
In 2017, I argued with a fellow classmate that we were seeing a generation shift. I wish I had published this blog then, but better late than never.
Baby-boomers (1940s -60s) loved owning things and preferred their social status expression through things they owned and Gen Xers (1960s to 70s) cared about social expression through material purchases - but increasingly less so. Millennials (1980s to mid 1990s)seemed to change social currency from material wealth to experiences. Quality of our experiences displayed on social media became the dominant currency of this generation. They reveled on the internet but mostly as consumers but shared their experiences very vividly in their personal networks. Hence, social media companies turned into multi hundred billion dollar companies.
The Genz (mid 1990s - 2010s) are just coming off age, and their social currency is creativity. Their form of social signaling is what they create for the world - from dance videos on tik tok to instagram reels - they create.
This generation is just entering the work force displacing the millennials as the youngest members of the workforce. As Gen Z’s spending power and influence on corporate America increases - following is bound to happen
The creator economy is highly undervalued and I think in the social media space it has a 10x headroom for growth - Tik Tok is the start and not the end.
Pandemic has ensured about 10% of their young adult life - late teens to late twenties have been spent indoors creating content. And they are very good at it.
Marketing to businesses is going to change with new and more entertaining formats will be required beyond boring long blog posts, case studies, video testimonials. Next generation businesses will adapt to a new style of communication and new way of messaging.
If you want to have any impact on the youth - you have to start creating content in a shape or manner that they understand.
Start creating!
