4 ms·

Yes, the barrier to entry has lowered, but IMO the proportion of people with something special/unique/intriguing/insightful to offer hasn't shifted at all. That

Yes, the barrier to entry has lowered, but IMO the proportion of people with something special/unique/intriguing/insightful to offer hasn't shifted at all. That's why there's so much "content" -- don't have a message or a useful product to sell? Regurgitate, or drop-ship. All you need is to be consistent, persistent and present, following the prescribed 'best practices' of your chosen distribution channel(s) and you'll magically appear in front of people. That print-on-demand 'I think about the Roman Empire 3 times a day' or Tyrion Lannister quote t-shirt you just sold will be in a landfill within months. Your daily YouTube content in one ear and out the other, forever rotting in a digital graveyard until time immemorial. That said, I actually think it's great that people are taking advantage of this stuff to make money and better their lives -- more power to them! -- but objectively, it's still just content, while the cream always rises to the top. Never bet against the Macho Man!

keiferski 3y ago
This is a really cynical view that doesn't accurately describe reality. I follow a number of people that make high-quality, philosophical content and make a living (not millions, but a living) from it.
- kevinsync 3y ago
  I admit I was a bit sensational in my comment, but what I was really talking about is signal-to-noise ratio, as well as creative intent. I suspect the people you're referencing are simply a cut above, believe in their work, and are excellent at it. I'd also suspect that the amount of people who produce similar material that you DON'T follow is disproportionate to the ones that you do. Many people view content creation as a means to an end, which is almost always MLM-adjacent and a mixture of: * Monetizing views * Directly selling a product / subscription * A brand-building exercise to eventually attract sponsored advertising None of that is evil or immoral -- it's actually fantastic for people who would have never had the opportunity to do this in the past, and can be very directly impactful to their livelihoods in a positive way. The inescapable byproduct of these activities though is the staggering amount of "content" that gets created, not in the authentic spirit of "I have a valuable perspective on a topic" or "I -need- to put this out in the world", but rather "this is a viable way to generate money" (sometimes as an alternative to working a dead-end job). That said, the average monthly take on OnlyFans is only ~$150; the top 1% of accounts make 33% of the revenue paid out. [1][2] There are 158 million songs on DSPs (Spotify et al), 24% of which have literally never been streamed a single time ever. 42% have been streamed less than 10 times total. [3] 67 million songs that nobody has ever heard before! That's a lot of pepperoni, man. This label "content" even applies to highly-quality, professional creations, as articulated by Robert Downey Jr. [4] I do genuinely believe that good, quality stuff will usually break through to the niche audience that its intended for though, while at the same time we remain drowning in the tidal wave of crap that people are generating lol [1] https://www.amraandelma.com/onlyfans-statistics/ https://www.amraandelma.com/onlyfans-statistics/ [2] https://earthweb.com/onlyfans-statistics/ https://earthweb.com/onlyfans-statistics/ [3] https://www.xxlmag.com/38-million-tracks-streaming-services-never-played-2022/ https://www.xxlmag.com/38-million-tracks-streaming-services-... [4] https://variety.com/2023/film/news/robert-downey-jr-dolittle-flop-important-avengers-content-1235665123/ https://variety.com/2023/film/news/robert-downey-jr-dolittle...

keiferski 3y ago

This is a really cynical view that doesn't accurately describe reality. I follow a number of people that make high-quality, philosophical content and make a living (not millions, but a living) from it.

kevinsync 3y ago
I admit I was a bit sensational in my comment, but what I was really talking about is signal-to-noise ratio, as well as creative intent. I suspect the people you're referencing are simply a cut above, believe in their work, and are excellent at it. I'd also suspect that the amount of people who produce similar material that you DON'T follow is disproportionate to the ones that you do. Many people view content creation as a means to an end, which is almost always MLM-adjacent and a mixture of: * Monetizing views * Directly selling a product / subscription * A brand-building exercise to eventually attract sponsored advertising None of that is evil or immoral -- it's actually fantastic for people who would have never had the opportunity to do this in the past, and can be very directly impactful to their livelihoods in a positive way. The inescapable byproduct of these activities though is the staggering amount of "content" that gets created, not in the authentic spirit of "I have a valuable perspective on a topic" or "I -need- to put this out in the world", but rather "this is a viable way to generate money" (sometimes as an alternative to working a dead-end job). That said, the average monthly take on OnlyFans is only ~$150; the top 1% of accounts make 33% of the revenue paid out. [1][2] There are 158 million songs on DSPs (Spotify et al), 24% of which have literally never been streamed a single time ever. 42% have been streamed less than 10 times total. [3] 67 million songs that nobody has ever heard before! That's a lot of pepperoni, man. This label "content" even applies to highly-quality, professional creations, as articulated by Robert Downey Jr. [4] I do genuinely believe that good, quality stuff will usually break through to the niche audience that its intended for though, while at the same time we remain drowning in the tidal wave of crap that people are generating lol [1] https://www.amraandelma.com/onlyfans-statistics/ https://www.amraandelma.com/onlyfans-statistics/ [2] https://earthweb.com/onlyfans-statistics/ https://earthweb.com/onlyfans-statistics/ [3] https://www.xxlmag.com/38-million-tracks-streaming-services-never-played-2022/ https://www.xxlmag.com/38-million-tracks-streaming-services-... [4] https://variety.com/2023/film/news/robert-downey-jr-dolittle-flop-important-avengers-content-1235665123/ https://variety.com/2023/film/news/robert-downey-jr-dolittle...