Happy Sunday people! This one’s very interesting.

According to the 2023 YouTube Culture & Trends Report, 54% of viewers would prefer to watch a creator breaking down a major event rather than the event by itself. It’s just like wanting to know what your friends think. However, it has us wondering about creator-audience trust & the rising validation of creator’s credibility on YouTube.

So? Let’s take a look. What is the future of how audiences consume financial advice, news & education in their everyday lives?

76% of Gen Z Are Learning Financial Literacy From Creators

According to a WallStreetZen survey in 2023, 76% of Gen Z use social media platforms like YouTube, Tiktok & Reddit to learn about financial literacy.

Why? Well, 69% of surveyed peers accredited the creator economy to be more “convenient and accessible”. Another 57% identified “diverse perspectives and strategies” as their 2nd reason & 52% said “relatable content from peers and influencers” was the next best motive.

In our opinion, this shift was inevitable. Despite books providing significant value, it’s more difficult, even for acclaimed authors like Tim Ferris (4-hour work week) & Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) to educate an everyday individual compared to a 10-minute YouTube video. So much so, both finance gurus aforementioned have embraced the creator economy since YouTube’s birth - building communities of millions today.

Finance experts becoming creators was just phase 1. The digitalisation of education combined with YouTube’s creator program has fuelled the rise of a highly lucrative finance niche. Now, anyone can teach finance. The best example of this is Ali Abdaal - a former practicing doctor who is now one of the most respected financial literacy & productivity teaching creators.

Despite having no qualifications in finance, Ali Abdaal has assembled 5M+ subscribers & gained over 400M views on YouTube, started a hit podcast based on entrepreneurship & released his own book “Feel-Good Productivity”.

He is now the world’s most followed productivity expert. All because he teaches in a visually appealing, accessible & relatable YouTube format - just like the findings from the WallStreetZen survey.

The creator economy is changing the criteria for career success. If you can captivate a niche and support it with real life success, the audience will come. Out of 1000 surveyed individuals, 76% of Gen Z already agree, & that number is likely to climb.

The Rise of Creator Journalism Versus Traditional Media Corporations

YouTube’s accessibility advantage has caused mass audiences to consume more creator journalism compared to traditional news corporations. A comparison of ABC News, 9 News & The Project’s documentation of the current Alice Springs crisis versus similar videos produced by popular creators Avi Yemini & Anthony Lees a.k.a “Spanian”.

Televised media: average viewership of 47,000 & duration of 10:36 minutes Viewership: ABC News - 65,000 / 9 News - 56,000 / The Project - 21,000

Creators: average viewership of 1.52 million & duration of 35:30 minutes Viewership: Spanian - 2.2M / Avi Yemini - 840,000

Why is this shift significant? YouTube’s natural accessibility advantage has led a major audience shift from televised news broadcasts towards easily consumed YouTube videos. This is seen above with a more than 1 million average viewership disparity between news corporations & creators on this topic. News is a fundamental pillar in society & whoever reveals news has the ability to influence opinions. Thus, with mass audiences consuming more creator independent journalism, what role will creators have in shaping future narratives such as current affairs?

Potential biases. YouTubers Spanian & Avi Yemini likely produced these videos with calculated thumbnails, introductions and storytelling techniques to suit the algorithm. News outlets amass their views on television programs not social media. Additionally, news outlet’s primarily focus on volume with frequent daily updates, rather than highly-edited weekly documentaries as such - suggestive of less individual reach but greater total library viewership.

Key points from this changing environment:

1. Audiences would rather watch individuals, they are personally attached to, breakdown significant events

2. YouTube has a lower barrier of entry for content, making creators more easily accessible than anchors/hosts on news programmes.

3. Audiences prefer niche content compared to general appeal broadcasts

4. With mass audiences shifting their attention to YouTube, creators have a growing responsibility in shaping societal narratives

Educational Creators Are Shaping the New Generation of Learning

‘Teacher’ (noun):

- A facilitator of knowledge who guides and inspires others to learn.

YouTube and similar content creators have already established themselves as a powerful teaching and learning force. They often make content accessible to a wide audience, through engaging videos breaking down complex topics in simple terms.

Eddie Woo (pictured above) & Khan Academy alone help millions of students excel in their high-school subjects.

1. Eddie: A teacher from a completely different school helping his class & millions of other students understands Mathes with YouTube tutorials.

2. Khan Academy: A free YouTube academy providing a world-class education for anyone.

We are moving towards a world where you can learn everything about anything on YouTube alone.

The future ahead is complex, and full of technology and knowledge we are desperately trying to keep up with. This is exactly where creators are coming into their own by creating tutorials, explainers, breakdowns and analysis for   the everyday you and me. With classes full of subscribers, and a new push to authentic relatability with their communities, creators are opening up spaces for learning and engagement unseen before.   

Take Cleo Abram. A former producer-journalist at Vox, Cleo now runs her own YouTube channel, “Huge If True”. Cleo's channel is the exact example of how creators are changing the face of tech education. Her videos explore complex topics like AI, space, nuclear waste, quantum computing, and the future of clean energy. Cleo doesn't just explain the tech, she inspires viewers to see the positive potential it holds and even get’s involved in shaping its future.

As a journalist-creator, Cleo actively challenges the paradigm that the future is bleak and full of fear. Through her vigour for questioning and explaining, she paints a picture brimming with potential, shares knowledge, challenges assumptions, and humorously engages our perspectives to think and consider the great potential of the future.

This is the power of creators like Cleo and many others. Creators who share, explain, apply, challenge and allow us to take back the power to understand and engage in the rapid evolution around us.

‘Teacher’  ‘Creator’ (noun):  

-A facilitator of knowledge who guides and inspires others to learn.

Business moves in the creator space 💡

1. In the span of 5 days, creator-brand Prime Hydration, has signed footballer Rafael Leao & and rapper Central Cee whilst becoming official sponsor partners for the WWE & Los Angeles Lakers.

2. The Inspired Unemployed have partnered with Swisse AU as Chief Gummie Officers (CGOs). The comedic duo have been in collaboration with Swisse since 2023 & are working on another collection launch.

Top 3 Videos Of The Week 🌐

The STORY STREET spotlight 🌐

Best Up & Coming Creators To Watch

• ByMaximise - an inspiration & aesthetics based anonymous Instagram account - “creating tools, content & a community to help you maximise your potential”.

• Sickos - six childhood friends from Hood River, Oregon, created a weekly webisode series taking on extreme, athletic and uncomfortable feats.

• Madi Stefanis - the founder of 35mm Co, a film camera startup from Melbourne. She posts BTS entrepreneurship tips & fashion-related content.