Influencer 101: Arizona State Is Turning Content Creation Into a College Major.
Written By: Jillian Stewart
WNBA & Trending Culture Contributor
Alex Wassabi has 11.3 Million subscribers on Youtube.
PewdiePie has 110M subscribers on Youtube.
IShowSpeed has 60.9 Million subscribers on Youtube.
Mr. Beast has 513M Subscribers on Youtube.
Since the early 2010s, social media has taken the world by storm. What originally started as a place to share funny videos of you and your friends or your morning iced latte and avocado toast has now turned into a multi-billion-dollar industry, one that is here to stay.
Millennials and Gen Z are the generations that pioneered internet culture, giving platforms to various creators like MyLifeAsEva, Alex Wassabi, and PewDiePie, to name a few, as well as creator groups like O2L, MAGCON, and Team 10. Growing up, these creators were not just entertainers; they were trend setters and tastemakers.
While 10-15 years ago it may have seemed silly to dub being a “YouTuber” as a career, it no longer is today. In fact, over 50% of Gen Alpha members are believed to want to pursue influencer work as a career seriously. Gone are the days of propping up your camera and hoping that a viral moment would land you a spot on The Ellen Show that would inevitably propel you to instant stardom.
Today, being an influencer requires a vast skill set ranging from videography, editing, marketing, branding, public speaking, and an entrepreneurial mindset, and so much more, to have a shot at success. As the space continues to grow, oversaturated users are becoming more selective with who gets not only their time, but their follow. Users are looking for signs of authenticity, creativity, and community. If the content doesn't check at least one of those three boxes, it’s a lot harder to make it.
So what is the future of content creation? Arizona State University seems to think it starts with a formal education. The university recently announced it will now be offering a Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation. To some, this may seem puzzling and unnecessary, and to others it may seem unorthodox. Still, it is a welcome change signaling that higher education might be ready to evolve and meet potential students where their interests lie.
The major follows the traditional 4-year requirements (a minimum of 120 credit hours, 45 of which need to be upper-division courses) and includes courses that span across a multitude of disciplines, including Communications (MCO 101 Grammar for Mass Communication), Journalism (MCO 225 Digital Media Foundations), and Psychology (PSY 461 Interpersonal Influence), to name a few.
Instead of focusing solely on “becoming an influencer,” the program draws on disciplines that have long existed within higher education to prepare its students for the modern day reality of influencer culture and business. This approach gives the need for the degree more legitimacy. Today’s most successful creators are represented by management firms like CAA, UTA, and WME, so a lot of the back-end mechanics are often handled for them. However, without the knowledge they acquired before representation, they would lack the skill set and resources needed to communicate with their management teams and advocate for their needs and desires.
The reality is that content creation has evolved into an industry that demands far more than creativity alone. Fortune-500 companies, sports teams, and even small businesses shifting their marketing budgets to allow more spending on influencer marketing versus traditional advertising mediums highlights the shift in consumer behavior, making content creation and "influencing" the multi-billion dollar business it is today.
ASU’s Content Creation degree seemingly aims to equip the next generation with the tools to help them successfully pursue what for many is now a dream occupation. As with any program, nothing is guaranteed, and no singular program can teach students everything they need to know, but offering Content Creation as a legitimately backed area of study in higher education opens doors for students who once thought higher ed was not for them because schools did not offer subjects that they wanted to study.
ASU is the first school to offer Content Creation as a major/4-year degree, setting itself up as a pioneer in the space. I would expect many more schools to follow suit in the near future because the creator economy isn't waiting for higher education to evolve. Arizona State is simply one of the first universities to evolve with it.
https://degrees.asu.edu/bachelors/major/ASU00/CSCCBA/content-creation
https://asuonline.asu.edu/online-degree-programs/undergraduate/content-creation-ba/
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