Web3 and the Creator Economy

Web3 is being built with blockchain technology and one important reason why is it provides new ways to coordinate economic incentives. On an episode of the Bankless Podcast titled “The Creator Economy”, Li Jin from the panel broke down the Creator Economy into 4 chapters:

1. Rise of social networking (everyone was a user/creator, but influential creators emerged that we didn’t know in IRL and gravitated towards. Think MySpace, early Facebook, etc)
2. Creators started to monetize that following primarily through advertising (creators had the audience but exist as a conduit for some other business that they promote or sponsor and the business uses the creator to achieve its goals. In other words, brands used these influencers as a new channel for advertising. Think Influencers on Instagram, Youtubers, etc)
3. Creators become the business and don’t need to promote someone else’s product. In other words, creators become their own brand and business. (Creators have a transactional relationship with their audience selling goods from their own brand and get paid directly from their audience. Think Patreon, Substack, etc.)
4. Creators are blending the line between audience and creator, creating micro-economies with richer ecosystems beyond a 1-dimensional monetization model. Typically less centered around an individual and more about the communities becoming creators in their own right. (Communities are built and interact and share and create value together, not necessarily in a transactional manner. Crypto lives in this space and represents the emerging market and is in its infancy. We do not yet know what it will look like exactly, but a version of that picture is emerging).