Tag: creator economy

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🕵🏻‍♀️Substack: the Marketplace of Ideas

Simone Hutsch on Unsplash

Weekly curated tools + resources for writers – thinkers, makers and builders ✍️

Interesting read from Ben Smith in The New York Times on the Substack debate. Media company vs tech platform, their editorial role (or not), the advances paid out by Substack Pro, and their biggest challenge: competitors like Ghost and Twitter/Revue.

The quote from John O’Nolan, Ghost CEO sums it up: Subscription newsletter publishing was ‘destined to be commoditized.’

The news is that Substack has signed up two high profile transgender writers – Danny and Grace Laverty so we have a household with two Substack incomes. A smart move, as it helps counter the backlash they’ve had from some writers who don’t want to share the platform with people who they said were anti-trans. It shows they want to be a platform for all – even those who criticise the company.

There’s been a media storm around Substack over the past year – about money, mostly (they are VC funded and valued at $650 million (Axios), the compatibility of VC funding and journalism, and the ethics of paying writers to join the platform. Why not? Authors get book advances, and we don’t bat an eyelid. And subscriptions are a much better deal for writers.

As Casey Newton said, Substack is taking up a lot of mindspace and has become a target for ‘a lot of people to project their anxieties.’

Substack has captivated an anxious industry because it embodies larger forces and contradictions. For one, the new media economy promises both to make some writers rich and to turn others into the content-creation equivalent of Uber drivers, even as journalists increasingly turn to labour unions to level out pay scales. – Ben Smith.

Some writers (a minority) are making big money on Substack – good for them. It’s inspiring to check the leaderboard and see what’s possible – it introduces a bit of friendly competition. They’ve built a following over time and bought their audiences with them.

But most (like me) are making money via support from readers, not paid advances. It’s a side hustle alongside their main job or freelance projects. It’s fun. I’m learning as I go, and it’s an opportunity to have a product and a platform. There’s no obligation to stay – I can take my work and publish it elsewhere.

Power to the creator 

The power shift has been happening for a while – Patreon CEO Jack Conte talks about it here. Substack isn’t creating it, but it’s part of it and riding the wave. There’s a cultural shift towards the creator economy, valuing good content and being willing to pay for it. David Lat calls it the ‘great reset’ of charging for content (we all need to get used to paying more for content!). And the fear is that it’s helping writers to discover their market value.

The genie is out of the bottle, and there’s no going back!

And it’s not legacy media vs Substack either – we have broad tastes, and there’s room for all types of media. I’m not paying for news on Substack; I’m getting opinion, analysis, and diverse views from people who may not fit the traditional media mould/niche, which is refreshing. Journalism is still largely a white, middle-class profession.

I am excited about Substack – it’s the biggest tech challenge in a while, and captures the spirit of early blogging with diverse views and a dose of reality. Columnist Heather Havrilesky is taking ‘Ask Polly’ from The New Yorker Magazine to Substack to ‘regain some of the indie spirit and sense of freedom that drew me to want to write online in the first place.’

As long as they keep adding value, supporting writers, and building community, I’ll stick around. It feels good to be part of a bigger mission.   

As a writer on the platform, the pain points are SEO – very important!! I’m giving away my Google juice. So I publish on my site first, tell Google I own the content and then share it to other platforms – Substack, Medium, and social media. And for those writers earning a living here, the 10% commission is a killer and needs to come down.

As a consumer, it’s expensive to subscribe to lots of newsletters – see this thread from Laura Hazard Owen. I can claim expenses if they are work-related, but I’d love to see more ‘bundling up’ newsletters in similar industries to offer value to readers. I’ve seen posts on Reddit asking if people are interested in joint subscriptions to split the cost.

Companies need to get in on the act, too – newsletter bundles would be a great perk for employees – fresh ideas and perspectives enhance workplace culture.

What are publishers doing to solve the ‘Substack problem’? 

  • The New York Times has bought columnist Paul Krugman’s free Substack to their platform.
  • @Choire is stepping down from the NYT Style desk and ‘taking on a new and exciting challenge, as a senior editor charged with a project to help expand our newsletter portfolio alongside Sam Dolnick and Adam Pasick.’
  • Vanity Fair meets Substack – former VF editor Jon Kelly is launching a new, private equity-backed publication. ‘Writers have been offered equity and a percentage of the subscription revenue they would generate.’

As Ben points out, the biggest threat to Substack isn’t politics amongst writers but another tech stack with a different (cheaper) model, e.g. Ghost, Twitter/Revue. Ghost is open-source and non-profit, which will appeal to many publishers.

They are aware of this and working hard on ‘brand Substack’. Good to see they’ve announced a $1 million initiative to support a new group of local news writers on the platform (non-famous writers ;-).

This is not a grants program, nor is it inspired by philanthropic intent. Our goal is to foster an effective business model for independent local news that provides ample room for growth.

There’s more to come. ‘We will make a large investment in a support program that includes initiatives related to healthcare, personal finance, editing, distribution, design, and coworking spaces.’ Which gives them the edge.

And writers will find creative solutions for siloed working and isolation. 💪

Today, eight writers with paid newsletters on tech and culture, including Casey Newton, Anne Helen Petersen, and Delia Cai, are launching Sidechannel –

‘A shared Discord server where our paid subscribers can meet, hang out, and participate in a vibrant daily conversation about tech, culture, and society.’

They have big plans – shared channels, jobs, networking, and Clubhouse-style chats where you can ask questions. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is their first guest tomorrow.

Let’s celebrate Substack’s success. Indie media is super important, as is diversity – we need more voices. Please support your favourite writers, artists, and musicians via Substack, Patreon, Podia, Soundcloud, and Stack Magazines – leave a tip or comment, share and like a post – a little goes a long way to help.

Self-publishing is a hard, lonely job 🎻

From the NYT comments:

In a media ecosystem where six companies own systems that deliver 90% of the news, indie platforms can only be a good thing.

Substack is filled with cancelled, edgy writers. It’s where Ernie Pyle, Hunter Thompson and Martha Gellhorn would be if they were alive and writing today.

Go deeper 🛠

✍️ Sovereign Writers and Substack (Stratechery) – Ben Thompson on ‘the fundamental issues about the Substack model specifically, and the shift to sovereign writers generally, that are being misunderstood.’

📬 Newsletters: The market is booming! (Marie Dollé). Mapping the newsletter ecosystem. ‘Creating content for and with your audience is exciting and crucial, especially when you realize that the community builder is the creator too!’ Brands, take note!

📣 You’ve Got Mail (Anna Wiener, The New Yorker) on the history of newsletters and embracing change: ‘Carving out new ways for writers to make money from their work is surely a good thing: the US lost 16,000 newsrooms jobs this year. I ❤️ Hayley Hahman’s comments on how writing her newsletter ‘Maybe Baby’ has made her reflect on how she measures success. 

👩‍🎨 Li Jin on the Passion Economy and the Future of Work (andreessen horowitz). ‘Gig work isn’t going anywhere—but there are now more ways to capitalize on creativity. This has huge implications for entrepreneurship and what we’ll think of as a ‘job’ in the future.’ 

And some newsletters resources for you 🤗

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🕵🏻‍♀️Fancy minting some art?

How creators can monetise using NFTs

You can’t move on Clubhouse for people talking about NFTs, the latest crypto craze set to disrupt the art world. So WTF are NFTs, and why should you care about them?

Thinking big💡

Last week, Sotherby’s CEO Charles Stewart was part of a 90-minute chat with CEOs, founders, crypto lovers and artists talking excitedly about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) — unique digital content represented as tokens — that are bringing cryptocurrency to the masses. There’s lots of speculation about how they might revolutionise the art world and how creators can use them to make money from their digital work. The general vibe is critical of the elite art world, and hopeful the crypto art revolution might change things.

NFTs first came onto the scene in 2017 when Dapper Labs’ game CryptoKitties dominated the Ethereum network, with people spending over $1 million buying virtual cats. A cool way for people to get started on the platform.

Lately, the NFT market has exploded, with the estimated value of crypto art at $182 million according to cryptoart.io/data, and this is just a fraction of the NFT ecosystem. The NFT Report 2020 shows $250 million worth of sales (art, collectables, metaverses, utility, sports, gaming). Metaverses have the lion’s share — collective virtual reality spaces. If we can’t get out, we’ll build a parallel universe to live in and find community! Nifty Gateway, SuperRare, Zora, and Foundation are leading platforms for creatives to monetise their digital artwork. Most of the press coverage focuses on the commercial side and big money exchanging hands, but many smaller transactions are happening — it’s a growing movement.

  • Last month net artist Beeple sold a piece of NFT artwork, CROSSROADS, for $6.6 million via Nifty Gateway ahead of the Christie’s auction of Everydays: The First 5000 Days — a monumental collage and the first purely digital artwork to come to auction. Current bid: USD $3 million with 10 days left to go.
  • Chris Torres created a rainbow-streaming animation of Nyan Cat based on his cat, which sold for 300 ETH, $454,974,00 on Foundation.
  • According to its creator Dapper Labs, the NBA Top Shot collectable crypto product has generated over $230 in gross sales. A Le Bron Jones clip from 2019 sold for $208,000.I’ve been down the crypto rabbit hole this week to try and get my head around NFTs to see what I can do with them.

Good overview here from Katie Haun, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, on the Dark Web, Gangs, Investigating Bitcoin, and The New Magic of “Nifties” (NFT), and blockchain trends to watch over the next 3–5 years…

WTF are NFTs?

NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) are unique digital items that can be owned and traded online. They make it possible for creators to keep ownership of their content without limiting the sharing of files across the net — giving creators an alternative to social media platform-driven monetisation. While most cryptocurrency is fungible — one bitcoin is worth the same as another, NFTs are non-fungible — like humans and unique on the blockchain so collectable (digital scarcity). You can own a piece of digital art and sell it like traditional art, and it’s trackable on the blockchain.

What’s cool is that if you sell a piece of work, the artist gets a cut of future transactions — no intermediary is taking an amount — it’s a direct relationship between artist and buyer — a shift towards the ownership economy, which empowers the creator.

Are NFTs the future of art or a fad? I don’t know, but it feels like we’re on the verge of something big — the money exchanging hands is mind-boggling, and the art world is ripe for disruption. As books have gone digital with Kindle & Audible and music and film with Netflix & Spotify, it makes sense that artwork and physical collectables will follow the same trajectory. We know the case use today for NFTs but not tomorrow. What future transactions will come? The launch of the iPhone in 2007 has led to Uber, ride-sharing, and the gig economy.

Beeple sells NFTs that represent his EVERYDAYS with a digital frame as a physical representation of the NFT and will give collectors a spot on his site to post a message.

Crypto trends over the next 3–5 years

  • Mobile payments will be huge — Celo.org is a mobile-first Defi open-source platform built on blockchain. You can transfer money on your mobile, and you don’t need a bank account
  • Content creators — Rally.io Creator Coin (one of Andreessen Horowitz’ products) Create your own branded cryptocurrency, sell your work and provide community benefits and incentives for your followers
  • Countries creating cryptocurrencies — China has made a payment system known as Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP), a digital version of China’s official currency, the yuan, which crypto pioneer Chandler Guo believes will become the dominant global currency

How Creators can use Crypto — Rally’s Creator Coin

Last week, I was in a room with @Mvellank, the co-founder of Rally.io, talking about their new Creator Coin and how NFTs are a viable path for creators to sell work and build community. They aim to give you the tools to create a virtual economy to extend your brand while providing community benefits & incentives for your fans — a tokenised economy. They’ve built a business model that “transcends the big tech platforms” to support the creator.

Someone in the room mentioned ArtCoins as another example of e-commerce innovation — a new digital cryptocurrency based on smart contracts and used for art trading, exhibition fees, curation rewards, art dividends, art profits & more.

Blockchain is hugely exciting, and it’s great to see it used to help artists and creators monetise digital work and reach a new audience globally. What excites me, though, is how we can use it as a force for change — as with Celo’s mobile wallet — to empower children and adults in developing countries to create work and sell it online as a means to pay for education rather than doing manual labour. CryptoWendy is keeping it real and has lots to say on this subject. She has put her daughter’s savings into Bitcoin and got into it as a peaceful protest against inequality.

Bitcoin was created by the people for the people and born out of the 2008 economic crash as a new kind of money. I expect we’ll see something similar with NFTs post-pandemic. They have made crypto more accessible for people and given power back to the creatives. As Jessie Walden says:

NFTs will become the port of entry to all internet media because everyone involved can make more money from the markets they enable.

Mark Cuban says digital assets are the future of business, and Chandler Guo, the crypto pioneer, believes digital currencies represent the future of money.

The downsides of NFTs are the network fees or ‘gas’, which can fluctuate and make it expensive to trade, and most NFTs live on the Ethereum blockchain, which has a huge carbon footprint. Companies are working on it and we’ll see solutions. We might have to have energy inefficiencies now to push the boundaries, build a new art world, and solve real-world problems if we can.

As remote work becomes the norm, we’re going to be looking for virtual spaces and experiences offering richer, intense and diverse social interactions — places to learn and grow together with people who have similar interests. NFTs are a gateway…

Everydays: The First 5000 Days — what a project! Beeple has created a piece of digital artwork every day for the last 13 ½ years. Imagine the level of detail! I need to psychologically prepare myself for that — it feels a bit like Hieronymus Bosch for the digital world. Great to see the evolution of his career — recurrent themes include our obsession with and fear of technology, the desire for and resentment of wealth, and America’s recent political turbulence.

Isn’t it amazing that we can create something at home, sell it online and get paid instantly — all without leaving the house. 🙏

The advice 🤔

Sacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth.

If there’s no gift, there’s no community. Charles Eisenstein.

Go deeper 🕵🏻‍♀️

🎧 Katie Hawn on the Dark Web, gangs, investigation Bitcoin and the new magic of Nifties (NFTs) — on the sofa with Tim Ferris.

💻 Jessie Walden — NFTs make the internet ownable — why crypto is becoming the ‘port of entry’ for all internet media.

📹 CryptoWendy says of Bitcoin, Polkadot, and NFTs in 2021 and talks to her family about financial literacy.

📖 Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein — Money, gift and society in the age of transition. A gift for you to read online here.

💰 Rally’s Creator Coin: How it works & how to apply.

🎞 One to watch tonight: Ready Player One — the world is a wasteland where people find salvation within virtual reality.

Welcome to my bookshop! 📚

I’ll be sharing books in my bag and recommended reads on Bookshop.org. They pay a 10% commission on every sale and give a matching 10% to local bookstores, an integral part of our culture and communities. Check it out here.

Work with me 🙋🏻‍♀️

Leopard print, always. Worry less and rock a red lip. Remote work evangelist, problem solver, internet person.

💡 Something you want me to write about? Leave a comment or email nicci@niccitalbot.io

☕️ Tips & large bank transfers welcome

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👋 Join Copy Club, 6 pm GMT, every Saturday on Clubhouse

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🕵🏻‍♀️Twitter takes on Substack; A new revenue opportunity for writers

Thinking big 💡

Last week Twitter announced it has acquired Revue, a newsletter platform for writers and publishers. Their first move into building out long-form content on the platform and getting into the subscription revenue space.

Twitter wants all creators to join the platform – experts, curators, journalists & publishers and will offer an all-in-one integrated service that “will all work seamlessly within Twitter” said Product Lead Kayvon Beykpur and VP of Publisher Products Mike Park. They will add new features that help writers connect with their audiences, like allowing them to host chats with their subscribers and invest in community resources and other revenue streams later on. 

The platform will be free for all users, and Twitter will collect just 5% of paid subscriptions revenue compared to Substack’s 10%. They say writers will get paid compensation for how many Twitter users they convert to subscribers. It will strengthen its relationship with writers of all kinds who want a platform to share their content and ideas.

Twitter has been heading in this direction for a while. First, they expanded the character count on tweets, then stopped including photos and links in the count so you can write more. Then they introduced threads, so you can build a story. Last year they talked about acquiring a newsletter company, and there were rumours they were going after Substack, which co-founder Hamish McKenzie said was not going to happen. Of course, they want to keep writers on the platform – right now they publish their long-form content elsewhere.

I thought they might go for Medium given its history with Twitter, but Revue makes sense as it’s a small company and presumably hasn’t cost too much. They will remain an independent brand within Twitter, and Twitter will expand the Revue team over time.

Following the announcement, Hamish tweeted comparing the social media companies’ efforts to oil companies trying to be more environmentally friendly, but then wrote this post welcoming the competition. The media ecosystem needs a shakeup, competition is healthy, and platforms that put writers and readers in charge are better. Creators also need proper business models.

There are now more than 500,000 paid subscriptions across Substack, and the top ten writers collectively make more than $15 million a year. It’s still early days, but this thing is happening – Hamish McKenzie, Substack co-founder.

Newsletters are booming and of course, tech firms and publishers want a slice of the Substack pie. Facebook is also working on a newsletter tool for journos and writers (launching this summer). Forbes has launched a massive expansion into paid newsletters and has a 10-year history in this space with its contributor network.

There’s Ghost, Lede, LinkedIn, Podia, Patreon & many more. Mailchimp has bought Courier Media – the best mag, newsletter and podcast for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Hubspot has bought The Hustle, an email newsletter and content company in a deal valued at roughly $27 million.

Why are we newsletter nerds? Because the web is a vast space and cluttered. We don’t have time to filter through the crap to find the good stuff, and we want a personal subscription service that delivers content straight to our inbox. We’re happy to pay trusted curators to do the job. I look forward to reading daily Morning Briefings in my inbox – no more trawling through news sites, doom scrolling and dodging pop-ups and paywalls.

Niche media is a powerful tool.

A new revenue opportunity for writers ✍️

Substack has said it will remain ad-free, but the pressure is on. At least three startups – Swapstack, Upstart.me and Letterwell have begun helping small newsletters find interested advertisers. We’re already seeing some Substack newsletters running ads and sponsorship so it will be interesting to see how they respond if this becomes widespread. If writers can make money without turning on the paywall it’s not great news for Substack as that’s their business model – the platform is free for writers. They may have to rethink that decision.

I’ve signed up to Swapstack so let’s see how it goes. Good to have alternative income streams as I’m not comfortable pushing paid subscriptions in the middle of a global pandemic and recession – which is why I also have a tip me button. It also means you can keep your work accessible to all and not behind a paywall.

The advice 💬

2021 will be the year that publishers start to form strategies to deal with the “Substack problem”. By that, I mean they’ll need to find ways to discourage their star writers from leaving to launch their own Substack newsletters. In the most likely scenario, they’ll make deals with writers to launch the newsletter under the media company’s banner. They might structure the deal, so the writer gets to keep their current salary and then some percentage of the subscriber income they generate – similar to the advances and royalties that book publishers dole out. This will entice the writers because they get to maintain job security while also benefiting directly from their success. They can also grow their audience much more quickly with the help of the media company. It’s a win-win for both parties. – Simon Owens’ Media Newsletter

Go deeper 🕵🏻‍♀️

📩 Revue asked its readers to predict how newsletters will evolve in 2021

✍️ A new revenue opportunity for writers: Ads emerge on Substack’s ‘ad-free’ newsletters

🎧 Axios Re:Cap digs in on Substack and the future of media

👻 The Ghost team on how to build a sustainable newsletter growth machine

💻 A joy to read! Robin Rendle on Newsletters; or an enormous rant about writing on the web

Welcome to my bookshop! 📚

I’ll be sharing books in my bag and recommended reads on Bookshop.org. They pay a 10% commission on every sale and give a matching 10% to local bookstores, an integral part of our culture and communities. Check it out here.

Work with me 🙋🏻‍♀️

Leopard print, always. Worry less and rock a red lip. Remote work evangelist, problem solver, internet person.

💡 Thoughts, ideas, feedback? Leave a comment or email nicci@niccitalbot.io.

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🕵🏻‍♀️My first week on Clubhouse; 5 tips; their new ‘Creator Pilot Program’, nuggets

My first week on Clubhouse
Clubhouse app

The Big Idea 💡

Clubhouse 👋 – A buzzy, invite-only audio, social media app.

A new type of social product based on voice [that] allows people everywhere to talk, tell stories, develop ideas, deepen friendships, and meet interesting new people around the world.

In May 2020, it was valued at $100 million in beta despite having just 1,500 users. By December, it had 600,000 users. A cross between an audio version of Twitter threads, live podcasts and a party – the next step up for podcasts.

I’ve been on it every day this week and loving it. It’s fun, vibrant and organic – I learn something new every time I tune in. They’ve hosted events on the tech exodus from Silicon Valley, Covid-19 and the gut, a beginner’s guide to Cryptocurrency, the pros & cons of 5G, & live performance of Antigone.

I can see why it’s flying during lockdown. We’re desperate for human connection and conversation and something that’s not Zoom. You can give your eyes a rest and have it on in the background – great if you work alone.

There’s a room for every topic under the sun

Millionaires Answer Questions; Be a Real Estate Boss; Music Networking No Egos; The Power of Social Media; Tech Talks, Womxn in Business – it’s US-heavy right now but growing fast. One guy said he’d just finished hosting an 8-day property room (he sounded manic). There’s also celebrity talk shows, live music, stand-up comedy, speed dating, political discussion, and performances. The Lion King had a 5,000 audience, 41 cast members and narrators, profile pics changing the scenes – a great opportunity for the theatre industry. And a 30-day festival coming up…

I prefer smaller rooms as they’re more intimate and you get a chance to speak. The larger rooms have a very different energy, some are heavy sell, lots of egos & too many mods – who can choose who they want on stage. Rooms full of men have different energy to those led by women. I’m enjoying Relaxed Business Networking, every day at 10.30 am – we had a good chat this morning about financial planning for women. You can pitch your business, ask for help, build your network, mentor others, hear diverse perspectives.

Getting started on Clubhouse – 5 tips

1/ Do your bio. The top three lines are important as they come up in the search so use keywords and emojis related to your field. You can’t add links to your bio, but you can link Twitter and Instagram and respond to DMs there (they’re working on a chat function). People are finding ways to monetising their bios – Cash App, tip jar, CH tip sheets to get you on their mailing list…

Be wary of gurus and experts. I don’t think anyone’s a CH expert yet, not even the founders 😉

2/ Be strategic and intentional. What info do you want to receive? What do you want to be known for? You don’t need to get all your updates from one platform. Be selective in who/what you follow. Curate your space & who you follow for a better feed, and exit rooms that give you a bad vibe.

3/ Get stuck in. Raise your hand even when you don’t know what you’re going to say. Start a room (it can be open to all, your contacts or private). You need to host three rooms to apply for a club, and people have suggested applying for a club first as there’s a backlog.

4/ Join the Clubhouse Town Hall on Sundays, 5 pm GMT – updates, best practice, and ask the founders.

5/ Keep a notebook handy – audio is fast and fluid, you’ll want to write down names, contacts, books. I’ve heard so many nuggets this week, a thread below👇

Clubhouse ‘Creator Pilot Program’

Where’s the money at? Right now, we’re not paying to enter rooms which has democratised it, but this will change. CH has said they won’t monetise it via ads which is a smart move, but there are other options: ticketing, tips and subscriptions.

It will be a platform for content creators to make money. They are testing an invite-only ‘Creator Pilot Program’ with more than 40 CH influencers including regular meetings with one of the founders and early access to special tools. Interesting to read that several of the people in the pilot programme are in their 40s and 50s and may not have big followings on other platforms – “not the Gen Zers and millennials most people imagine when they think of influencers.”

It seems tech investors are warming to the idea that being a content creator is a legitimate form of business – analysis from tech reporter Taylor Lorenz.

I feel like something has palpably shifted in the past year among investors, and it seems like everyone is talking about the creator economy now and investing in creator tools. Li Jin, founder of Atelier, a V.C. firm investing in the influencer economy.

Creators are passionate and take their businesses seriously. Serving them is a good business strategy.

The murky world of moderation  

If they want to keep users happy, CH also needs to be a safe space that’s well moderated. What are they doing to tackle hate speech, racism, misogyny and trolling? Here’s Tatiana Estévez on the recent issues and harassment of Taylor Lorenz, and the challenges of setting up an effective moderation system that protects women & other marginalised groups.

I’ve been at the CH Town Hall and they are responsive to comments and adding to their to do list. According to their Community Guidelines, rooms are now being temporarily recorded so they can check complaints, and you can ban and report users.

Maybe have CH users vote someone on to the board to deal with data/privacy issues – for transparency and to show you are committed to users’ views. It would be a good way to demonstrate bottom-up leadership.

The beauty of Clubhouse is that it’s live and easy to use. Please don’t add too many features – I’m really not bothered about messaging on the app. Being able to hop off onto other platforms during an event is a strength and keeps it sticky.

Please take off the follower count! It’s about adding value, not how many followers you have.

Brand accounts and podcast recordings – seen ‘em! Not sure how they fit in but keep them separate.

Those who are hearing and visually impaired aren’t being catered for now – live transcription would help.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next six months. There’s much talk about whether it will lose exclusivity if it gets too big. I don’t think so. It’s different from existing social platforms and serving a need: human connection. Business networking is changing. I’ve heard many people say they prefer online events as they’re more accessible & affordable. We may not want to go back to the travel and expense post-pandemic, so this will be super useful.

As Li Jin said, creator platforms flourish when they provide opportunity for anyone to grow and succeed.

Ps, they’re hiring (Android launching in March) – apply here.

Toolkit 🛠

💻 The Verge: The $100 million start-up is learning the hard way that content moderation comes first.

👩‍🎨 New York Times: How tech investors are embracing the creator economy.

🗺 SignalFire’s market map to give you a deep view of the creator ecosystem.

💡 Li Jin on building the middle class of the creator economy.

The Advice 💬

Clubhouse nuggets…

The quality of people on this app right now. The networking is fucking amazing. It’s helped me so much with my public speaking.

Focus on energetic exchanges rather than monetary. Seeing the wealth that comes from compassion over sales. Shifting the conversation from monetary seems critical.

The best thing about Clubhouse: Not getting a suntan from the fridge lights. Before, I was spending a lot of time in the fridge. Now I’m spending it on Clubhouse.

The first real app that allows true interactivity. It’s revolutionary for the way we speak to each other.

I heard some techies talking about future of CH, people will come on with different voices.

I’d describe Naples as Liverpool with a suntan. They are very similar cities.

The world is full of amazing people. Any single mums on here? Struggling? Give us your PayPal email, and we’ll transfer some cash.

Welcome to my bookshop! 📚

I’ll be sharing books in my bag and recommended reads on Bookshop.org here. They pay a 10% commission on every sale and give a matching 10% to local bookstores, an integral part of our culture and communities. Please spread the word and help support the high street.

Work with me 🙋🏻‍♀️

Leopard print, always. Worry less and rock a red lip. Internet person, global citizen, flâneuse, problem solver.

💡 Thoughts, ideas, feedback? Leave a comment or email nicci@niccitalbot.com.

☕️ Tip me!

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