The Creator Economy Just Went Mainstream. Why?

You can watch this episode on YouTube or listen to Means of Creation on your podcast app of choice.

Creators have always been a driving force that powers platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter. But it's not until recently that Big Tech platforms are doubling down on building tools and support systems that set them up to succeed. In short, the creator economy went mainstream. Why? 

As we try to answer this question, it helps to see things from the perspective of both legacy technology platforms and creators themselves. That's where this week’s guest, Alex Kantrowitz, comes in. 

Alex is a journalist who has spent years studying the inner workings of tech companies. He understands both why big tech companies make strategic decisions and how they go about executing those changes 

Alex is also a creator, facing the challenges and opportunities of building an audience and livelihood on big tech platforms himself. He publishes a weekly newsletter and podcast called Big Technology that covers stories about Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft. He’s also the author of Always Day One, a book that examines the internal decision-making frameworks within big tech companies. 

In this conversation, we talk about: 

• How Big Tech’s attitude toward creators has shifted
• Why he is bullish on Twitter Spaces 
• His work as a solo creator compared to his time working for larger media companies
• The pros and cons of monetizing through advertising versus subscriptions
• His personal strategies for avoiding burning out

We hope you enjoy this conversation with Alex as much as we did!