Rise of the Independent Creative Class
There’s no question. Even within the last five years, we’ve entered into a new world. I call it the rise of the independent creative class. Hundreds of thousands and millions of people earning their keep as independent creative people. But it’s moved way beyond just the digital and into the physical world as well.
So whereas before, you would think about writers and graphic artists. Now you can think about industrial engineers and craftsmen.
The movement is being powered by cheaper tech, cheaper hardware, and programming proliferation. Who’s enabling this?
Companies like eBay, Kickstarter, Amazon, Stripe, Makerbot, Gumroad. I’ll take three of the newer ones.
Kickstarter - Companies are now crowdsourcing millions of dollars for new projects. All the contributors ask for is some sort of preferential treatment. Maybe access to a piece of the project. What do the companies get? Lots of up front money. It’s a no-brainer and it’s allowing independent projects to be funded at breath staggering rates.
Makerbot - One of the crazily weird 3d printing companies out there. They’ve sold tens of thousands of printers. And why? So people can build custom stuff for their home and/or office. To sell and do with it what they may. It prints physical stuff. And innovation over here is happening very, very rapidly.
Gumroad - Sell anything, anywhere with just a link. Leverages the power that people now have with their personal networks on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn and elsewhere and lets you create a simple link to sell stuff. No approvals necessary. Really straightforward and the piece they take for the automation they provide is very reasonable.
It really is a new era.
