The Battle for the Soul of the Internet

Today, we hear the story of Patreon, as told by cofounder and CEO Jack Conte. More pressing for our purposes as makers, however, is the driving belief Jack shares which is the beating heart of the creator economy -- or should be.

There's a coming fork in the road we'll face if we want to create for a living and thrive. The decision is embedded into the very name of the movement: creator economy.

I think the pendulum has swung too far towards the economy part, and we need to remember what this is for: finding ways to fund the work and lives of the creative people who make our world -- and our experience of it -- better.

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Every Friday, I send a new idea, story, or framework for crafting more resonant work to thousands of subscribers, ranging from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.

VOICES IN THIS EPISODE:

• Jack Conte, cofounder and CEO of Patreon -- https://twitter.com/jackconte

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PRODUCTION:

Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com

Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Unthinkable is a storytelling podcast about creative people who break from conventional thinking to make what matters most. We’re traveling the business world to learn how to create work that resonates — with powerful stories from makers, marketers, and leaders like the CEOs of Zoom and Patreon, execs from Adobe and Disney, and creators like writer Tim Urban, comedian Sarah Cooper, and photographer Chase Jarvis. From artisans to entrepreneurs, writers, designers, podcasters, video creators, and all the weird and wonderful nooks of the working world, we’re meeting inspiring people to learn what we can do to resonate more deeply with the work we create.

Listeners have called the show “This American Life for my work” with stories “as captivating as some of the best, like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Carlin.”

Thanks for listening!