Evolution of the Internet and Its Impact on Creators

May 16, 2024

Evolution of the Internet and Its Impact on Creators 🌐

Introduction

  • Speaker is excited to address a mixed audience of creators, music industry professionals, and tech enthusiasts.
  • Focus of the lecture is on the evolution of the internet over the past decades and Patreon’s role in it.

Early Career and Web 1.0

  • 2007: Began uploading music and videos after college.
  • Experience: Created a record 'Nightmares and Daydreams' using handmade elements and traditional tools like Photoshop (pre-magnetic lasso tool).
  • Challenges: Limited avenues for sharing creative work; resorted to reaching out to bands and venues via MySpace and performing at empty bars.

Transition to Web 2.0

  • Web 1.0: Described as a static web with read-only capabilities.
  • Web 2.0: Emergence of platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter enabling user-generated content.
  • Impact: Key shift - creators could now upload, share, and interact, marking a significant change for artists.

Rise of Social Media and Building an Online Following

  • 2007-2009: Introduction to YouTube; uploaded 43 videos.
  • Subscribe Button: Highlighted its revolutionary role in creating a following and ensuring a direct channel for distributing future work.
  • Case Study - Pomplamoose: Created with girlfriend Natalie, quickly gained subscribers, and successfully engaged directly with fans (e.g., selling personalized thumb drives, creating fan-generated album artwork).

Kevin Kelly's 'A Thousand True Fans'

  • Premise: Creators need only 1,000 true fans spending $100 a year to make a sustainable living.
  • Importance: Highlighted the shift from just reaching people to building a devoted fan base.

Shift to Web 3.0 - The Era of Ranking

  • 2010s: Facebook introduced ranking to enhance user engagement, leading to other platforms adopting similar algorithms.
  • Impact on Creators: New challenges in reaching followers due to algorithmic curation, prompting creators to tailor content to fit algorithmic preferences rather than personal creative goals.

TikTok and For You Page

  • Model: TikTok’s feed is not based on subscriptions but on algorithmic suggestions, influencing other platforms to follow suit.
  • Consequence: Dilution of the follower concept, making it harder for creators to maintain direct relationships with fans.

Current Challenges and Potential Solutions

  • Challenges: Decline in organic reach, difficulty in sustaining engagement, and reduced creative freedom due to algorithms.
  • Emergence of New Platforms: Discord, Kajabi, Fourth Wall, Gumroad, emphasizing deeper, direct connections with fans over broad reach.

Patreon’s Role and Vision

  • Company Evolution: From membership platform to encompassing media, community, and business tools.
  • Goals: Strengthen direct relationships between creators and their true fans through various new features (e.g., community building, ticketed live experiences).
  • Strategy: Focus on creating sustainable, meaningful communities rather than just chasing views and watch time.

Advice for Creators

  1. Invest in True Fans: Focus on depth of connection over new views and followers.
  2. Create Beautiful Things: Prioritize making content you are passionate about rather than what appeases algorithms.
  3. Know What You Want: Clearly define personal goals and stay true to them, resisting external metrics like watch time as sole indicators of success.

Conclusion

  • Emphasized the importance of staying true to one's creative vision and maintaining genuine connections with fans.
  • Encouraged creators to focus on meaningful, impactful content and not to forget the core reasons for their creativity.

[Applause]