Launching a new platform, he said, was like starting a new country: Getting users to move from an established network that had an ossified economy and social classes to a new network requires the possibility of success

the new social network had to create upward mobility for all users, to “make sure there’s a middle class coming up.

The current creator landscape more closely resembles an economy in which wealth is concentrated at the top.

The sustainability of nations and the defensibility of platforms is better when wealth isn’t concentrated in the top 1%.

In the real world, a healthy middle class is critical for promoting societal trust, providing a stable source of demand for products and services, and driving innovation.

Google has revealed that on a daily basis, 15% of all queries have never been searched before, a figure that has remained stable since 2013.

the lack of an upper limit for engagement in games, and the social nature of games leading to winner-take-all network effects.

Rosen argued that in markets with heterogeneous providers, like most creator economies, success accrues disproportionately to those on top

the best performers in a given field are freed from physical constraints like the size of concert halls — and can address an unlimited market and reap a greater share of revenue.

Creator platforms flourish when they provide opportunity for anyone to grow and succeed. When the American Dream is just a dream, the fate of platforms becomes precarious.

it’s vital for creator platforms to provide paths for upward mobility and democratize opportunities to succeed.

The middle class in America didn’t just happen naturally, but was born of 20th-century policies that created widespread prosperity: Roosevelt’s New Deal; the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established the minimum wage, overtime pay, and prohibition of employment of minors; a rise in unionism; the passage of the GI Bill; and the creation of the Federal Housing Administration.

1. Focus on content types with lower replay value.

categories with high replay value — like music and game platforms — are most susceptible to concentration among a few mega-hits.

To create a more equitable creator ecosystem, platforms can direct users to content types where there’s greater appeal in experiencing a wide array of content.

2. Serve heterogeneity in user preferences & empower niche.

When various segments of users have different preferences and opinions on quality, there’s a greater opportunity for a diverse array of creators to succeed.

3. Recommend content algorithmically with an element of randomness.

when algorithms do the searching for users, there are more opportunities for niches to thrive.

bringing a diversity of videos into your For You feed gives you additional opportunities to stumble upon new content categories, discover new creators, and experience new perspectives and ideas as you scroll through your feed.

4. Facilitate collabs and community.

For starters, while many grassroots communities of creators are already springing up, platforms can do more to enable creators to connect with one another for emotional support, collaboration, and education.

5. Provide capital investment to up-and-coming creators.

Some creator verticals require upfront capital investment or capital to unlock the next level of growth, and could benefit from funding in order to lower the barriers to entry.

6. Decouple creator payouts from audience demographic.

Deliberately designing systems that don’t just financially reward more affluent creators is important because the playing field for content creation is already uneven.

7. Allow creators to capitalize on superfans.

Customers are willing to spend more to gain closer access to a creator vs. showing passive support through a subscription.

8. Create passive (or almost-passive) income opportunities for creators.

When income is incremental, creators are able to dedicate time to other sources of earnings and create a portfolio of various income streams.

9. Offer a form of Universal Creative Income (UCI).

Freshbooks’ 2019 Self-Employment in America Report revealed that the top barriers to self-employment were: “worry about inconsistent income” (35%), “don’t have cash to invest” (28%), and “worry about earning less” (27%).

10. Provide creator education and training.

Rapid technological progress has led to a wage premium for skilled workers, while low-skill workers struggle to even find a job given increasing offshoring and automation.

With the availability of various substitutes and a loyal audience base, creator platforms do have to cater to top creators in order to incentivize them to stay — a dynamic that predisposes platforms toward inequality.

The challenge is to balance the leverage that top creators have — and rightly spotlighting top talent — with lifting up newcomers.

Societies and platforms flourish when there is a path for everyone to have upward mobility, achieve financial security, and learn and grow.