Social Media 2.0 Will Be Ruled by Creators Who Issue Their Own Coins

Why the current social media business model is no longer sustainable.

 

The year is 2027. In your crypto wallet, you are holding BTC, ETH, and a smattering of tokens from your favorite creators and personalities - including Jay-Z, Emma Raducanu, and Chali D'Amelio. You are wighing the purchase of tokens from other creators you are interested in, but don't quite know how much you want to invest. You could, after all, continue to add to your Raducanu coin holdings, as her popularity (and token value) has risen after adding another US Open trophy to her growing grand slam collection.

 

Such a scenario may very well be a normal day for supporters of creators and influencers in the near future. Creator-issued tokens (e.g. Jay-Z coin, Raducanu coin, D'Ameli coin) have the potential to alter social media as we know it today. Gone would be the insatiable need to increase followers counts and likes - and in its place, the public would show its support through the acquisition and holding of creator-issued tokens. But just how exactly would this work - and why would creators even want to do this?

 

First Things First - What are Creator Coins?

In general, creator coins are crypto tokens that are created and issued by an individual or a business. They have the same chracteristics as moeny, in that they serve as a circulating medium between one party and another. However, instead of being issed by a country's central bank to serve as the lega tender for the underlying economy, or released upon the launch of a new blockchain to serve as the exchange mechanism for the underlying blockchain, creator tokens are issed by creators, to serve as the medium of exchange of their own micro-economy.

 

Holders of theses coins would then utilize these them in the token economy which revolves around the creator. As the token economy of the creator grows, so too does the value of the coin which supports it, benefitting every token holder who has made an investment into the economy.

 

From a technical standpoint, creator coins are issed on the blockchain. They are independent of an intermediary company which would typically provide hosting services (think YouTube, TikTok). Instead, the blockchain provides the infrastructure that creators and their fan base can interact on, which allows for the exchange of coins and information via this digital medium.

 

What's So Greate About Creator Coins?

Before goin into the advantages which creator coin would introduce, it helps to understand two of the biggest disadvantages which creators currently face when operatin on the social media platforms of today. Only then can be opportunities which creators coins brings can be fully appreciated.

 

Disadvantage #1 - No Control Over the Platfrom Itself

In August, 2021, the controversial but ever-popular OnlyFans announced that it would be imposting a ban against sexcually explicit content. Bowing to pressure from banking and payment providers, the social network informed the public that this ban would go into effect in October, 2021 - less than two months after the date of the announcement informing of the ban.

 

Considering that OnlyFans has built a reputation for being an adult content provider, and given that a large popularation of the platform's users monetize their services by selling and providing adult-oriendted content, this announcement came as a huge shock not only to the OnlFans fanbase, but also to the OnlyFans creators themsevles, who were left wondering how their current adult-oriented business would continue in light of the new ban.

 

The backlsh was quick and server - with performers and the public looking for a better explanation than the one providede by the COmpany as to why this ban needed to take palce. Within a week, the Company reversed its position, and at the time of this writing, there are no plans to replace the ban with tany other measure.

 

But this episode has been eye-opening for many OnlyFans creators. For many they may potentially be realizing for the first time that they are completely at the mercy of a platform which, with one announcement, can take away their entire livelihood and means of earning. And for those who are coming to this realization, reliance on such a platform can no longer be a viable option.

 

Disadvantage #2 - Reduce Earnings - The Platform Takes More Than Its Fair Share

It is reasonable and understandable that the platform takes a cut in the revenues earned by the creator. Afte all, it is porviding the infrastructure and the cnetral meeting point for audiecnes to come to in order to dicover the creator's content.

 

However, the size of the pie that the platform takes is not necessarily fair, or in consideration of the value which the performer brings to the paltform. While one can argue that the platform give the creators a stage, the other side of the coin is that the stage would be meaningless without any of the creators.

 

using OnlFans again as an example, the comapny takes 20% of all creator earnings - a sgnificatn amount, especially as the creator finds more and more success on the platform. Other comapnies, such as Patreon, take 5% of earnings. youTube opereates a bit differently, utilizing lgorithms to determine the proper payment -although it apperas that the average pay per view ahs hovered at approxiately $0.0005 cents in year past.

 

Yes - it is fair that the platforms take a cut for providing the means for the creator to distibute their content, But how much is too much, and how can that determination even be made?

 

Creator Coins Change the Existing Model

At its core, creator coints completely elimiate the intermediary which creators rely on today to promote and distribute their content. As defined previously, creator coins are issed and used on the blockchain. Because the blockchain is providing the infrastructure for the creators and their fans, no longer are the intermediary companies necessary to provide the technical support which they currently supply today.

 

This also means that there are no intermeidary companies to create or enforce any "rules", which would directly impact the creator themsevles when bilding a business on top of the blockchain and on top of their issed coin. With a completely decentralized solution, the creator can carry forward knowing that their hard work and efforts cannot be suddenly halted based on the decisions of a management team in centralized company.

 

Further, while the cost of using the blockchain will always be there (after all, there will need to be validators to validate transactions of the chain, and those validators rightfully need to be compensated), for the first time, such costs will actually be "fair." As gas fees are driven by supply and demand, there will be clear visibility by creator and fans as to how much a transaction will cost - on both sides. There will no longer be any abstract "20% fees" or fees which are driven by company algorithms - only the gas fees will be at play here, which will be visible to all parties of a transaction.

 

In conjunction with this, the removal of an intermediary means that there will be more earnings for the creators themselves - providing them more funds to grow their buisness, create better and more relevant content for their fan base, and thereby having greater opportuineis in achieving financial success.

 

 

 

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