Note: I re-learned an important lesson this week. Efficiency comes with experience, especially in the absence of a good tutor. I am trying to get better at conveying ideas through video (as you can tell if you watched my most recent video, this is a very early work-in-progress). This week, I planned to release episode 5. Then, after editing for a few hours, which is always the most tedious part of the process, I found that my video and audio were not in sync. And the manner in which I recorded it meant this could not be edited in post. In other words…back to square one.
Deflated but not defeated, I am instead doing another week with just a reveal and no new Startup or Story. So new podcast and Startup or Story will be back after Thanksgiving 🤝🏾. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for every one of you that takes time out of your busy lives to share a few moments with me across this void of time and space.
Today, we’ll be covering:
Create-stars reveal - startup or story and why
Sponsored read
Create-stars Reveal
In case you missed it, here’s last week’s pitch 👇🏾:
Create-Stars was a pitch for an academy aimed at supporting middle and high school students aspiring to work in the digital creator economy.
I didn’t get as many guesses as I’d like on this one, so don’t know how obvious this one was. In truth, Create-Stars was…a story!
There’s no Create-stars, but a comment on the YouTube video summed it up best. @user-qz4it2xx3o said…
If it is not a start up, it should be! Sounds like the program that helps people publish books :)
OK, full disclosure: that anonymous user is actually my mom. (Everyone deserves a mother that will be the first commenter on their YouTube videos.)
But that comment is spot-on. To me, it’s a glaringly obvious business. I love extracurriculars that a) develop meaningful skills, and b) offer something kids actually want to do! Too often, extracurriculars turn into a painful chore meant to boost college applications or are edutainment that’s much more entertainment than education.
A creator academy, on the other hand, offers a real Trojan Horse possibility. Offer kids incredible skill development disguised as the proverbial ice cream truck. With kids already wanting to create content and build an online audience, a physical academy path offers a way for them to convert those aspirations into tangible skills in a socially beneficial setting.
I’m not the only one thinking about this space. In the few days since I posted this video, Mr. Beast himself (referenced in the video), announced a foray in an adjacent space:
A credentialing (non-degree) course in partnership with a university on preparing people for careers in the creator space? Perhaps this is targeting a slightly older audience, but it’s not a far cry from this to Create-Stars.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments (or call or text). I like this idea so much that I’m doing more than just writing about it.
P.S. My original interest in the Create-Stars concept is for a story I’m in the *very* early stages on. Have you ever heard of the attention economy? It’s the idea that our attention is a scarce resource that businesses are competing over. If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” That’s a phrase that brings to light the ways in which the attention economy manifests in our life, and it has seemed like the last couple decades has seen incredible growth in this sector of the economy. In fact, one might call this growth alarming, especially if you start to extrapolate what a massive “attention economy” could look like as it evolves and morphs over time.
I have one interesting possibility for what this future could like, and it relates to this idea of creator schools. That’s all I’ll say for now. Working title - Sparklegirl’s got soul. Hopefully you’ll see it (or hear it) in 2023.
This week’s WIBAI is brought to you by…Huge If True*
If you like the optimistic, exploratory theme of Wouldn’t It Be Awesome If…?, but wish the production quality was a bit higher-level, boy do I have the recommendation for you. Cleo Abram is a video journalist and a former video producer at Vox. She’s branched out on her own and posts YouTube videos on futuristic topics, told with excitement, curiosity, and nuance.
This latest video on electric planes is awesome. In my head, this is what my Startup or Story videos look like. But then they end up looking like…well, you see what mine end up looking like…moving on. Give this video a shot - I think you’ll love it. And subscribe if you’d like to be notified when she drops a new video (she usually posts about once a month.)
Oh, and don’t forget last week’s sponsor, The Maker’s Dream. There are still 50 copies of the book left in my closet. It’s the perfect gift for the holiday season - click the link to buy a signed copy as a gift for a friend who might like it!
*No one is sponsoring this, obviously. I am just putting stuff I like in here alongside my shameless plugs.
Tune in next week for a look at a familiar business model applied to the latest craziness in the courts.