There's something about the name of the major in the department in which I teach - "Creative Media" - that, for many first-year students, brings to mind the career of an influencer. So as to disabuse them of the notion that our major will teach them how to be an influencer, I outline the differences between the career of a media professional - a broad category encompassing screenwriters, directors, producers, editors, camera-people, newscasters, sound engineers, etc. - and the career of an influencer. In searching for a metaphor or parallel to describe the career of an influencer, I typically refer to pop star musicians (though the following is likely applicable to any genre of popular music - rap, country, etc.).
On the up side, the barrier to entry is low - anyone can start playing music, post that music online, promote it on social media, develop a following, become famous and earn plenty of money. This is in contrast to many media professional positions that require access to expensive equipment, social and/or geographic proximity to connections in the business, competitive apprenticeships, and a track record of proven success. On the down side, there is a lot more competition when the barrier is low. There's always someone younger, hotter, funnier, edgier, and more novel than you, and they're so eager and hungry for attention that they'll be happy to take that sponsorship deal you turn up your nose at. There's no incentive for platforms like YouTube, TikTok or Spotify to share much revenue with creators because there's a never-ending talent pipeline, and so they tend to pay creators very little.
Generally, pop star careers are shorter than those of many media professionals, again because of the low barrier to entry, their replaceability, and the audience's desire for novelty. Of the small percent of influencers who achieve success, it's hard to find ones who maintain it for more than a few years. This is in contrast to all of the aforementioned media professional careers that typically last decades, with salaries and job security typically increasing over time.
There's also the challenge of maintaining a pace of output that being an influencer demands. Whereas audiences are trained to expect a new song from a musician maybe once a year, 13 new episodes of a TV show every year, and a new film from a well-known director every several years, influencers are expected to generate new content at least once a month. Maintaining that pace for years can be taxing. Looking at the Wikipedia entries of several popular influencers from the 2010's, the word "hiatus" frequently appears - an understandable response to the non-stop production schedule. This is to say nothing of the effects of public scrutiny on one's mental health, the blurring of personal and professional identities, the loss of privacy - none of which are issues for the average editor, screenwriter, or audio engineer.
Other influencers try to make the jump to the mainstream, collaborating with established media professionals, making movies or TV shows, parlaying their success on the web into something more lasting. Some succeed while most do not. Gradually, I think influencers and the entertainment industry will get better at intuiting which personalities will transfer to the big screen and which are better suited to TikTok, YouTube, podcasts, etc.
Another antecedent to the influencer is the career of reality TV star, though they seem to rely more heavily on personal appearance or sponsorship gigs than influencers, who seem to more effectively monetize their content and exert more control over their image from the start. Maybe the similarity is less related to their career trajectory and more to their relationship to audiences - more intimate and ordinary than the average actor or director.
This all sounds like I'm trying to dissuade students from pursuing the life of an influencer, which I'm not. The fact is that tens (or maybe hundreds?) of thousands of influencers (broadly defined) make enough money to live on. I'd guess that this is more than the number of people who make a living at being a pop star, but maybe less than those who make a living as a musician.
Being an influencer, like being a pop star, seems to require "natural talent." There's only so much you can be taught about how to succeed in those realms, and a college classroom certainly isn't the place to learn it. Better to just watch some tutorial videos, go out there, and do it. And if you got it, you got it, and if you don't, you don't. I can't think of a reason not to pursue both paths - the path of the influencer and the path of the media professional - simultaneously, though the time demands of either path will eventually force you to decide.
As the influencer phenomenon continues to age, we'll get better at answer these questions about that career: Do influencers get enough revenue coming in from their videos that were popular years before to make a living? Do sponsorship deals persist or do they dry up? What does the second (or third) act of the career of an influencer look like?
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