Is the creator economy in the Web3 era really better? How to play?

Last week, I exchanged some ideas with a friend I met in the NFT world. He made it clear that he would not persuade the creators around him to immediately enter the NFT circle, because without preparation, he just entered another red sea. At the same time, he said that he is also trying to decentralize the writing platform, but not Matters, and then also discussed the current observations on various decentralized writing platforms.

It seems that there is nothing wrong with many saying that the Web3 trend is here and that the first thing to revive is the creator economy. Many people who had already given up on running fan clubs or IG have invested in this new field because they hoped to find opportunities in this new field. In addition, I just happened to read this good article by Gardenia Durian on creator economy. I feel that taking this opportunity, it is better to talk about my immature views on the creation ecology of the Web3 era.

A few editors around the Web0s?

I am an old man who has experienced the creation of the Web0s. When I was a student, I accidentally participated in an off-campus literature camp, and my novel creation won the award for excellent works. I was also selected for submitting articles to the newspaper literature supplement when I was in college. That's why I felt that I could consider a creative field in my future workplace. Otherwise, I originally had an engineering background, and I wasn't the type that would be chosen by teachers to participate in essay competitions.

At that time, the feeling of being spotted by these newspaper editors was really honorable, and I felt that I might really have some kind of hidden talent. Later, I really entered the workplace and met a lot of literary editors. Looking back on it now, I feel that I was able to submit a manuscript successfully. Part of the reason may be because these supplements have been loyal readers for many years, and they played a very good role unconsciously. Good students who are "guessing questions" will naturally be seen when their submissions are easily in line with their preferences.

Before the advent of the Internet age, supplements naturally possessed some kind of hegemony, and the review editors who published their articles could indeed influence what style of literary creation was the mainstream.

After graduation, I will always attach these supplementary portfolios to my resume to prove my creative ability. Sure enough, several advertising companies took a fancy to them and thought they could try copywriting planning. Later, I chose a small advertising production company founded by a former Ogilvy & Mather advertiser, and I also exchanged with my boss about the supplementary article attached at that time. The senior advertising man smiled and said that my articles were very interesting, but they just made him think I could cultivate and read them. He emphasized that the taste of copywriting required by the business world is very different, and it has to stand the test of the market and customers; while pure literary creation is placed in a drawer, no one has seen it for many years, and it will not be great.

Is it really so? In the field of pure literary creation, it's just a group of young literary circles who can't face the world? Business copywriting may have more market concepts? Having been baptized in these two fields at the same time, I feel that these are just two different creative ecosystems.

For example, traditional supplement editors have been interacting with people in the literary world for many years. Every time an article is published in the supplement, there will always be feedback from outsiders. Although there are no data analysis tools in hand, they still cultivate a certain market sense. So following them is not entirely wrong.

As for commercial advertising copywriting, although it is a service company, it is also possible to find compromises that can stimulate creative sparks. The ecology is based on the communication between brand customers, copywriting providers and consumers who ultimately see the advertisements. A lot of commercials that are well-received and well-received, and some people will miss, are regarded as art, so there is no need to say more about them.

Head-to-head competition for Web2

I agree that the most challenging thing about creation is always the creation itself, but the platforms used for exposure in different eras do have the ability to influence the trend of creation. In the era of Web2 community, newspaper editors and advertising companies have to delegate power to Facebook and Youtube. This is indeed an improvement. After all, there are many other styles of creation, which may not be understood by people in these traditional fields, but there may also be Potential worth seeing.

So where is the problem? In fact, it’s just because the platform is too unified. Now not only the content of literary creation, the interesting copywriting newly launched by advertising companies, but also the news media, and the posts used by vegans to greet relatives and friends are all on the social platform. In this way, everyone can judge the most popular topics on the data every day to create content, so that different types of content can get the same respect and show their unique value? Naturally a very wrong operation.

It's just that many internet celebrities complained that even if they knew that they shouldn't please everyone and lose their uniqueness, the algorithm will always reduce their influence in the community sharply. Therefore, the economic revolution of creators in the Web3 era should be decentralized, so that content of different values can have their own place to live, and can still survive without the hegemony of algorithmic algorithms.

The power of ten thousand people

This standard of living does not need to be as high as the Facebook era. It has to become a million-level fan and Internet celebrity, but it should not be too low. At least it should be the power of several thousand to 10,000 people. Therefore , for creators in the Web3 era, community management still has to be done, but it is enough to find the thousands or 10,000 people who understand you best.

So, when 10,000 people appear, do you expect yourself to be able to make a living with it full-time? Nor is it easy. Even the people around me who are optimistic about Bitcoin and blockchain feel that the decentralized revolution, the most optimistic in the future, cannot completely replace the centralized world. After all, many centralized management, such as government military, is necessary. In addition, it is still a longer process of generational struggle and education for the thinking of people around the world to shift from centralization to decentralization. Decades later, it is remarkable that 50% of the field can be shaken to become decentralized.

In other words, the world will still have many resources in the future, which must be provided by the centralized world. Therefore, the best gift that a decentralized platform can give creators is to build the best bridge in the beginning, allowing you to connect with a group of people who really understand you, but in the future, if you want to create a book, or a book In the film, I think many processes still need to communicate with people in the traditional system and obtain resources.

I think the better way at present is to explore opportunities on both sides of the traditional and Web3 fields. You can stay in some traditional companies related to content. In addition to getting to know people and hone your creative ability, you can also see the side project that the supervisor accepts and proposes the concept of Web3. In fact, these traditional companies are aware that they need to transform digitally, which will encourage the innovative actions of internal employees. After NFT has become a hot topic in Taiwan this year, many bosses in traditional fields that you can't think of are beginning to be curious about the blockchain. The company culture is fairly open-minded, maybe it can persuade the superiors to try something new, and then they can be generous in the company.

On the other hand, of course, you can find opportunities to intervene in various currency circles and NFT communities by yourself. In the early stage, you don’t need to be able to make money from it, and slowly find your own position, but the key is to choose the place that can really enhance your personal value. Don't just look at where the words are the hottest, and drill where the rewards are the most. These are temporary, not necessarily permanent.

This is why I still choose to stay at Matters. After all, there are still the most users who know how to read and write in-depth text content. Clap and the author's weekly data report are both important to me, but it is not possible to imagine it. Rely on these to make money, but use it as a market assessment. Of course, I'm still looking forward to the really active expansion of the Matters community, and it's easy to find the power of those thousands or 10,000 people who are creators.

Main image credit: Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay