The creator economy is much more vast than online professional learning – but from what I’ve researched so far – I believe it has a chance to disrupt traditional education over the long term.
Before I dive in here is an article from TechCrunch about Edtech and the creator economy. They list out the startups below in the space. I have also listened to a few of Gum road’s podcast episodes:
Startups:
Podcasts:
- Ana Lorena Fabrega on Making Your Own Path
- Daniel Vassallo on Small Bets and Planning for Unpredictability
- Dickie Bush on Writing and Running an Internet Business
Sahil Lavingia – the founder and CEO of Gumroad – offers a course called The Minimalist Entrepreneur ($1500), which got me thinking a lot about how the creator economy might disrupt traditional education.
When I say traditional education, I mean graduate and undergraduate degrees, but I see most creator economy courses disrupting at the graduate level to start.
Some quick benefits for the end consumer looking for education:
Unbundled Offerings: course offerings are unbundled for the learner to choose what they want. They’re not paying for 2 years, 6 semesters, and 18 courses – some of which will be valuable / culminating and some of which will not. Instead, students can zero in on the topics of interest and find learning opportunities. There still will be scenarios where bundling is valuable, especially to those still deciding where to take their professional career (hence why maybe graduate programs are more disrupted than undergraduate assuming most graduate students have a more defined area of interest).
Social Proof / Credibility: Who is teaching a course I want to take? What is their lecture style? How do they structure the course? These were important questions for me during grad and undergrad since I aimed for making as many courses as possible worth my while. Knowing the teacher, what they do for work can totally eliminate these unknowns and better help students choose the course they take.
The brand power of top tier MBA programs is one aspect that creators can’t compete with – at least not right now. A Harvard MBA carries weight with employers.
A colleague of mine always says MBA students represent a ‘great applicant pool.’ Maybe employers could partner with creators to hire people who take their courses?
Emeritus is a very interesting Edtech company partnering with universities and enterprise businesses to bring high quality education / courses to individuals.
This will be an interesting trend to follow. I am still very thankful for my undergraduate and graduate degrees. I haven’t experienced an online course taught by a creator yet but perhaps some time soon.