Slow Upload End of Year Review

Today’s Slow Upload marks our 45th installment, and the final one of the year. Initially a forum to share our internal dialogue at Slow more broadly, this newsletter has become not only a weekly ritual, but also a launchpad for community discussion on a variety of topics – from big, meaty investment frameworks to weird observations in internet and creator culture. It has been an effective forcing function to synthesize and refine our ideas, and gives us great empathy for the rigor of consistent content creation.

As we head into the final days of 2023, we wanted to highlight five editions of Slow Upload that we consistently refer back to in conversations and our daily work:

1. Does The Creator Economy Need A Rebrand? – A zoomed out exploration of the “creator economy”: where it’s been, where it is today, and where it’s going.

2. The Operator Problem – A discussion of the critical need for operating talent within creator businesses and some potential changes to unstick this problem.

3. Digital Cults (Taylor's Version) – A deep dive into Taylor Swift’s popularity and the common traits of highly-followed, “cult”-like leaders.

4. Framework-Driven Sourcing – An overview of the areas we look to when identifying creators to work with and the frameworks that help us understand the basis of their consumer attachment.

5. Is “Creator” A Codeword? – A review of the very definition of a “creator,” and how it’s evolving in real time to encompass many different archetypes across content formats, platforms, and intentions.

And one for good luck: Battling Burnout – An ironic proposal on how to ultimately scale yourself as a creator.

Happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year!