September 24, 2023

By Afzal

Influencers sell influence. Creators sell creations.

The Internet is now so huge that many people are making a living on it without depending on any other source. The native economy of the internet is the creator economy where we can find influencers and creators. One might wonder whether these two are interchangeable, but I think that while they share common ground, they are not the same. The people we call creators or influencers are the ones who create something on the internet that can be videos, music, or assets. They make money by selling their creations right? No, not true for many let’s take YouTubers as an example they mainly make money by letting ads run on their videos or sponsorships, because they can’t directly sell their content I mean there’s the community and their support but still, they aren’t directly selling their content. Now for comparison let’s take IndieMakers as an example they make money by directly selling their creations to their audience, but a YouTuber can’t sell their content so they sell their influence which is endorsements of their sponsorships, you may now have an idea of who are creators vs influencers for me. You can be on either side, and if you are being ethical whether you are influencing or creating you are amazing. I think most creators are worry-free because they aren’t selling someone else’s creations, while influencers need to be very cautious as they completely don’t know the product they are selling by endorsing. If you ask me to choose a side I would prefer the creator side because I love creating stuff and what would be better if it helps you make a living, and a huge portion of the influencer industry seems unethical and dishonest, they sell products they don’t use and sometimes lie about it too. And not always it’s the influencer that lies sometimes they get tricked and aren’t completely aware of what they are selling. There are so many great influencers who are very well aware of the consequences their influence can have, so they only endorse stuff that is genuine and related to their niche that can make their audience’s life better. To avoid this endorsement trap there are so many influencers who have also turned into creators they endorse and sell their own stuff. At last, let’s end this essay with a very popular quote “With great power comes great responsibility”.

Thank you!

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