One Day Left to Apply for White House’s Creator Economy Conference

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I’m not going to talk about politics today, because I — like the rest of the world — am gutsick over the upcoming November elections here in the U.S. Can we all agree that any timeline where you wake up every day forced to contend with reality like Leo DiCaprio at the end of  “Don’t Look Up” is unequivocally the darkest one? (No offense, Adam McKay, though, actually…some offense, Adam McKay.) If you’re not thinking of the film’s final line: “We really did have everything, didn’t we? When you really think about it?” at least five times a day, are you even truly living in your truth, bro?

And though it may not feel like it, we are still currently in our “have everything” predicate. Democracy hasn’t been obliterated…yet. We don’t live under a fascist thought experiment that makes the world of The Boys more grounded than a Ken Burns’ documentary…yet. Ukraine’s leader isn’t President Putin…yet. The situation is dire, but that’s all the more reason to celebrate victories, no matter how seemingly small they appear on the face of things. And on that note:

Tomorrow is the deadline to apply for the inaugural White House Creator Economy Conference (WHCEC) on August 14th. I strongly encourage anyone involved in the sweatshop conditions of content manufacturing to apply, even (especially!) if you think this first-of-its-kind event may also be its last. Though the Biden administration is certainly no stranger to influence initiatives, historically it’s been seen as a promotional tool to educate the country’s chronically online citizens on certain policies and agendas on everything from the State of the Union to the war in Ukraine. (This SNL skit nails it.) But as anyone who’s tried to monetize knows, aiming for reach means targeting accounts with the highest number of followers.


THE COMMENTS SECTION


First announced at VidCon (perfect, zero notes), WHCEC purports to “convene a group of digital creators and industry professionals to discuss the most pressing issues within the creator economy today — including privacy, fair pay, AI, mental health, and more.” And while no one is naive enough to believe this is just a benevolent, philanthropic gesture that just so happens to fall just over a month before registration windows for voting in the primary election begin to close, it’s one of those cases where intentions matter less than the result. You can see this as a cynical ploy to get more young people registering to vote while also appreciating the opportunity of having the highest level executive branch of government officially recognizing the labor force fueling a predicted half-trillion dollar industry.

If we were living in anything other than the darkest timeline, I’d be able to predict with some confidence that this would have a domino effect: first the White House entertains creators, the next thing you know the profession is officially recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau. If everything ran like clockwork, creators should complete the last stage of their professional metamorphosis just in time for April, when they’ll emerge from their “just a side hobby” chrysalis as fully taxable members of late-stage capitalism. Just like Mother Nature or VP Kamala Harris intended.
  
But we live in a time of unknowables. Next year, the IRS promises (for super serious this time) a taxation on independent income over $5,000, a “phase-in” of a confusing 2020 initiative to issue 1099ks for any online transaction over $600 as part of the American Rescue Plan. But because everything is on fire and we’re all wearing eyepatches while fighting Furiosa-style to feed (quench?) our addiction to water, it may very well be that this new tax law will go into effect under a different administration than the one that issued it.

Some may see this as a defeatist attitude, but really it should galvanize creators to take even more urgent action in pressing the Biden/Harris White House to officially recognize and enshrine the rights for creator labor. Unionizing may be off the table (though who knows, reality tv stars are finally making some headway…then again, their ranks include Donald Trump), but there are still plenty of ways to leverage your reach as a tool to enact politically motivated legislative action. What else is there to do in Washington?


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