"Talk about earning your 15 seconds of fame - over the past decade, the influencer economy has exploded. In 2016, it was seriously niche. Now every major consumer brand invests in influencer strategy. Where companies once poured budgets into television ads, they now cut deals with "creators" who command millions of followers. Why? Because attention has migrated to social platforms, and influencers have become the gatekeepers of vast numbers of impressionable eyeballs."
"You know who was the prototype from an earlier age? Paris Hilton. Remember her from the aughts? She wasn't a performer who happened to be famous but a celebrity who became famous for being famous. She didn't act, sing or write a book, though she was featured in a now‑infamous sex tape. She trademarked catchphrases, turned parties into PR and monetized her image before social media had a business model. She wasn't just famous. She was a living, breathing brand."
The influencer economy has grown to about $21 billion, comparable to the GDP of small nations such as Jamaica, Madagascar or Gabon. Attention functions as a monetizable resource, and influencers capture, refine and sell that attention directly. Influencers earn by converting attention into economic activity through sponsorships, product deals, affiliate links and launching brands. They operate across YouTube, TikTok, livestreams, Instagram, podcasts and increasingly through AI‑generated avatars. Brands shifted budgets from television to creator partnerships as attention migrated to social platforms. Control of distribution and the means of connection underpins influencer power. Paris Hilton acted as an early prototype, trademarking catchphrases and monetizing image pre‑social media; Kim Kardashian industrialized the model.
Read at Brooklyn Eagle
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