The Real Difference Between Creators and Influencers

It’s not a gender thing.

WIRED published a bad take this week claiming that most men self-identify as “creators” while most women self identify as “influencers.” This is really not true, and I wrote about the real history of the word creator, how it evolved, and the current influencer vs creator dichotomy.

My piece explains the true origin of how creator came to be adopted, then championed, by YouTube, and why many young, multi-platform creators now identify as influencers (no matter what their gender).

READ: The Real Difference Between Creators and Influencers

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Also, I’m moderating a panel at Betaworks Synthetic Media Summit today on “virtual influencers” like Lil Miquela. Personally, I think all those CGI influencers are overhyped bullshit, but VCs have pumped lots of money into them and are always trying to convince me otherwise. So we’ll see!