Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web 

14:50 joy ... 17:30 sadness ... 20:50 despair ... 23:30 hope ... 36:12 yearning ... 37:40 questioning ... 39:00 following (and soul-searching). Man, that was a rollercoaster. Thank you Jack.

Jack, I don’t know you! But I do… I have been following you, pomplamoose and your other music ventures for quite some time now. I’m probably your mom’s age… but I am someone who has loved and lived for music my entire life. I also photograph things… people. So I consider myself a creative. Your video moved me to tears. You have summed this up brilliantly and I applaud you. I walked by you and Nataly at Bartavelle a few weeks ago, you were having coffee at that outside table in the corner next to the bike shop. I wanted to walk up to you and thank you for all you’ve done, all you’ve given, well, all of us. You’ve made a way in this online Wild West for others to make their passion into their livelihood and that is no small feat. You are incredible!

I'm 74 years old and well remember the early days of the Internet. All you have said resonates and, as an introvert and creative person, scares the sh!t out of me. But in a good way. In the short time I have left on Earth, you have given this old man hope for the future. Onca again, thank you.

Absolutely stunning, I couldn’t feel more connected and identidad with your message

This. This is how humanity-creators and fans-keeps the AI wave from consuming us. This is how music and art stays alive because its through music and art that we stay connected-soul to soul. Been a Pomplamoose fan for years! Thank you for a jolt of inspiration and hope for tomorrow! 🙏

I don't consider myself a "creator" but this resonates with me so much. What a brilliant summation of the last few decades. Thank you.

I truly enjoyed this talk. Thanks for taking us through the history of the internet and our place in it. You definitely touched on a lot of thought-worthy points. Thanks!

Didn't mean to watch all of this. But it happened 😂

jack, as a social-sculpture, dreamer, puzzler, inventor, documentary and Myth-U-Mentary filmmaker who suffers from curiosityitis and an early adopter of patreon, - in full disclosure i use to get excited watching you be excited and that's what originally caught my attention when i first stumbled Pomplamoose, back in the day and years before Patreon - i liked the music and your and Natalie relationship as a couple and your and her relationshiip to music and how you followed the sound when editing too, - but for me the adventure was watching you,, and your mind work like a little kid in a playground, as you're discovering the pieces of the puzzle - your SxSW talk about the future of the "web" it reminded me of my SxSW 2011 talk on the future of the web as a social -sculpture. but that's another story - i agree about being true to your dreams and do meaningful things - fyi, i make documentaries and Myth-U-Mentaries for people who aren't born yet, but that's another story - I loved when you said, back in the day, about starting Patreon because you needed it and wanted to see it for yourself and musicians and beyond - your SxSw talk was right on about many things but especially, the true fans and building community too, and it tickled my imagination as you have done over the years - thank you - the art of living is making your life an art

This is a great talk. It would be a very special message to especially music and art graduates. Very spontaneous on! This is a message coming from an 83 yo who has seen thousands of graduates walk across the stage so hopeful, but destined for the dust bin of history. I recently discovered your channels and seek out every creativity you and Natalie and newbies have created. Being a frustrated former pro musician that took another direction in life to make money , you have brought me back to music. For that I am eternally grateful! Thank you.!,,❤ ,

40:04 On the radio today, i was listening to an interview with a woman who wrote Prince’s memoir and they discussed how right before the end of his life, he wrote in his journal about his realization of his impact being woven into the identity of america. his art was very personal which others can deeply relate towards. youtube used to have that touch before it became algorithm focused. thank you for posting this ❤ it is reassuring to know there are people talking about it

Jack has been one of my favorite people ever since I first saw that video for "Yeah Yeah Yeah" all those years ago, and I have listened to his music in all it's forms, from from Jack to Pomplamoose to Scary Pockets. I've watched many episodes of dead wax (professional musicians react). And always, ALWAYS... I get him. I'm that same kind of person who gets way too excited about that new amazing song I just heard, and wants to talk about the bass part, or that genius bridge, or those climactic harmonies. I'm the person in the crowd who bobs their head more than the other people and can't help but sing along at the top of my lungs. I get super emotional about my favorite songs, whether they're my own or from my countless favorite artists. But what I really like about Jack is that I want someone like me thinking about these kind of things... helping the future for artists. Thanks Jack. Keep creating and keep helping creators. I for one very much appreciate you.

This is one of the best talks I've ever seen. Such beautiful story-telling!

Thanks sooooooo much for the Free Membership tier. Most patrons on my Patreon are paid, but the free membership has put me in touch with more people -- and right now, that's what I care about most. I have a tiny following, but with that contact to more serious fans, I've seen my monthly listens to my fiction podcast reach what I used to see in a year. It feels a bit like the 90s, when I self-published comic books and chatted with people online. While the size of a following is relative, it's become bigger and...is even more fun. So -- again -- thanks! 😀

Your perspective and laying out the history like this explain everything. As I'm 'late to the party' as a creator and also with a small business, this gives me a new hope and direction for how to create and engage in meaningful ways with compounding not diminishing returns. Even more importantly, this is moving to a place of healthy engagement with technology, where I feel that my creativity is benefiting people not leeching from them. Thank you for sharing your journey and taking hold of the future for better!

I am usually impressed by your videos, but this one was especially incredible. Thank you for sharing those thoughts and your passion. I am blessed to be alive in a time where I have tools to access inspiring content like yours. Keep spreading the words and the love. This was awesome!

I need a Jack Conte alarm clock. What a shot of motivation. Thanks for understanding what’s important and remembering what community should be. Patreon is creating social capital and that is what we need right now. 😊

Jack, thanks for this gift of context and helping frame the experience we're all having on this crazy internet journey. I'm a creator (even have a Patreon page), and I'm really grateful to feel less alone in the experience just from watching this video. Thank you for taking the time to say what you have to say and say it well.

THIS ☝🏼 would resonate with every creator to the core, if only the RU-vid algorithm would rank it to get the views it deserves. Love your passion for human connection and community Jack! 🏆

Been a fan of Jack's for 16 years now. He's done so well!

This was an incredible talk and the visuals and music put to it really pulled me in. Your wisdom on the web and how creatives can exist on it is incredible, thanks for sharing it and acting on it through all the things you do! Love from the UK!

This is one of the most inspiring videos I have see in a very long time. I remember the times my videos had reach and massing consuming back around 2010. I know my content is desirable by a certain segment because I receive praise, but new video just don't get the attention, maybe because most of my subscribers have forgotten about me, or RU-vid is not serving my videos to my subscribers well enough. I have been trying to determine a better way and I think Patreon may be that platform. I will be focusing more on Patreon from now on, so my time can be better utilized for the fans that really care.

I love this so much, I would share it on social media but none of my followers will see it.

Super awesome talk. I'm in tears. Let's keep creating beautiful things, creative people!!!

I almost lost all hope. Now you gave it back. Thank you!

I've watched this video several times now. Didn't know I needed it. It's also perfect timing because I found it while writing my latest post for the Creative Writing Wizard, and this vibe is harmonious to what I've written.

I'm one of your superfans, have been since the start of Pomplamoose. This is an amazing video and analysis. Felt like I was watching something historical.

I still don't get why this channel doesn't have more than 1M subs. I've been following on RU-vid since the early days of Pomplamoose, and as I'm still doing content, here I am, a true fan. To the point 👌

"and i want that person to feel connected to me even though we've never met before in our lives, but i said a thing that resonated with them and made them feel less alone" - thissss !!! it's not the only thing i want as an artist but it's most definitely the driving force . i want to connect with others, i want to make them feel something through my art, i want to cherish my memories and experiences ! i want to be apart of the youtube new wave which honestly feels like a modern version of what youtube was at the beginning, broadcast yourself

Thank you, Jack. I realised how crazy it is that no one is telling us how this internet thing works, most of us are mindlessly following the big tech but don't feel we have much of a saying in what we get, I think what you are talking about it is giving our attention and resources towards those creators and companies that actually want us to engage, that sounds super awesome and also kind of logical?

Good talk Jack, appreciate the honesty and passion you put in to this talk, a lot of genuine points that came from your heart and also what made Patreon work in the first place. Hope to see you make what you love to make in years to come :)

I'm blown away, what an incredible life you've lived and what a wonderful company and service you provide to creative people. Thanks for sharing this!

It feels like not that long ago that I found Pomplamoose via My Terrible Friend. They'd done a cover of Kings of Leon's Holy Roller Novocaine and pretty soon I was watching all their videos. And then they were on a road trip to your place... and I've been listening to you ever since. When you're thinking about your following (and this looks different from one creator to another) it makes it easier to follow. Glad to keep following you.

Great talk! I've been thinking similar things for some time now. It's weird how much we use this platforms to communicate, yet most of this communication is within what creators think the algorithm allows. It makes the unique people that are so much fun to watch/read/etc..., harder to discover. Hope things change for the better. Love seeing someone spreading word and trying to fix it!

Funny how the youtube algorithm gives me this video which goes against this way of content distribution. This feels really wholesome and connected to the mindsets of creators. He didn’t talk about it but also almost anti-AI by making something beautiful and connected to you and what you want ro create, not what some other person or thing wants you to make. I’m still afraid of moving forward but this helps me to focus on finding that inner drive and goal that I’d want to show to those that feel the same or may be inspired/entertained/ or learn from me.

I didnt actually think I would watch all of this. I scrolled through the comments and they convinced me and Im very glad I did. I'm just at the start (I have 0 followers on both my insta and tiktok, 0 posts as well so not surprising), I love doing the creative stuff. But I fully dislike having to use social media, especially with what its turned into more recently where all you do is having to chase the algorithm. However, I really like engaging with people and talking with people that you have a connection to, I use discord a lot. This video made me feel more optimistic about where things are heading, and I will utilize what you said, view the socials as a way to get exposure and then have the true, real fans on another platform where you can engage with them closer. I'm not really sure what I've even written here, but in short I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this talk.

Thank you Jack. May your goals and dreams echo into the future, changing lives for the better.

I’m watching this video again for the additional animations and editing! Beautiful :)

Really interesting thought provoking talk Jack - well done and thank you for making this. It spoke to me :) the irony is , For me you’re right I need to work out what drives me . I think it’s a combination of learning, as well as creating - for me it’s a journey. But I am hobbled that I can’t believe anyone will want to hear what I’ve got to say. Maybe, as you say - I need to find that audience. The fact that’s difficult doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try … the world is large .some people, somewhere may be interested in what I have to say . Thank you …

Thank you Jack for this pep talk.

Once again, Jack has made another inspiring and beautiful presentation on creativity in the current age. Thank you.

What a fantastic video. I've been following Pomplamoose for years and now that I'm a creator, I love the work you do with Patreon!

An amazing summary and inspiring talk! Thanks Jack!

Well, this was an amazing video. This vision resonates with me deeply.

Incredible stuff. Really inspiring and moving.

I believe the death of the follower has put me on the map in the first place. I am also very fond of the algorithms that actually reflect how much people like my videos. It's brutal and not perfect, but it really solves a core problem: being found. making the step from 0 to 1. Of course, I also 100% agree with the fact that it makes building a tight community harder

Definitely needed this at the point in my creator journey I'm at.

Also, this reminds me of Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk, which also made me tear up, years ago.

This is so cool! I've often wanted to support creators and then found myself hesitating on their patreon page, mainly when I can't send a lump payment for one year- I avoid monthly subscriptions in general because it's very easy to lose track of how much you've signed up to pay per month, and unfortunately, I'm not at the point where I can subscribe to all my favorite creators with abandon. I end up picking and choosing based on who's "mission" I support the most/who has the fewest subs and patrons, where my impact as one subscriber is a lot bigger.

I feel blessed after watching this video, awesome job Jack! Greetings from Perú!

The hotdog stand vs restaurant analogy is going to stick with me.

this was so good. thank you thank you thank you

Great job Jack.

this is so wonderfully authentic. Guys, let's make something that makes sense to us, not what the algorithm eats. I'm fucking pumped! Let's go !!!!! wooou

Wow really encouraging talk

fully agree, as youtube adding ranking on his main page i goes directly to make a bookmark/favorite on the subscription page because i want to know when an artist i follow, leave something and every sites have to keep that kind of page. that's why i continue to use it. Don't change you are making the grade ;) ♥

Congrats on your success. Steady on.

I am an early JackConte follower, I couldn't get enough VideoSongs. While I wish he kept on doing VideoSongs, he went to obviously do bigger and better things. So proud of him.

🙌

Sixth! And thank you Jack. I’m still a Jungle Animal at 💙… happy to be a creator within the Patreon family. Looking forward to the new!!

Brilliant!

You're a true legend Jack. I found you through music, but you're a great guy overall and I appreciate what you do for the creator/maker community out there. Great advice for any aspiring artist/creative out there. Thank you for being you.

Yes, this is exactly what we want!!!!

Wow Jack this is spot on. I am grateful for your vision. However this is not a resolution for the cannabis and glass art community. I got excited for 10 min and almost got patreon until I realized my life and creations will be censored the same no matter what silly internet app I use.

Thanks!

I am really interested in the free membership model of Patreon. I used to support several creators on Patreon but then my financial situation became much more constrained when I became disabled and lost my job. I still follow many creators, musicians, photographers, film makers, puppet makers, renovators and people who just make stuff for the fun of it, but I can’t afford to pay them a monthly fee. I would however happily buy the occasional product, like last year when I helped out the guy renovating a French chateau by buying a custom made Christmas decoration.

Oh, SXSW shared this back in March. I knew I had already seen it.

Thank you. I feel as if I have a new friend.

Ok. I am jazzed up now.

This is exactly what i am experiencing... the loose, slippery "connection" with fans. The algorithm that defeats the attempt to deep, and replaces it with reaching new people.

Hey Jack. Love you bro.

Real Creator Economy explained from scratch. Thanks 🙏

@jackconte The biggest issue with the direct-to-fans model is discovery. Discovery was a problem back in Web 1.0. Ranking solved discovery. It sounds like the new Patreon model is a destination after discovery, which still needs to be solved. “Finding those people” needs to happen.

Jack please upload a video on how you edit your videos. Will watch it, even if it's 10hrs long. Please please please 🙏

Jack, please add captions for your deaf fans like me! 🤟🏼

37:42 THE TIME YOU AWAKE

I've seen this talk somewhere before.

Why do I feel like he intentionally skipped a whole bunch of what was happening in the ‘90s and ‘00s? There were chat rooms and forums for people to meet and have dialogue. The IMF World Bank protests in Seattle were one of the earliest examples of a direct action that was coordinated online. Even before social media like RU-vid, there was Flash that allowed people to create highly customized websites that had animation, video embeds, and so much creativity and communication. I had a Flash site, and loved it. It wasn’t as passive of an experience as he’s creating, and it’s irresponsible to just hand wave that away. He just maybe wasn’t old enough to know about it, but those forms of creative communication were crucial to showing the possibilities of online communication. And I’ve always found the language of “followers” to be sus. I remember the first time I heard it, it was in relation to Twitter. I said to the person, “That sounds very cult-like.”

GAWD you make me want to accomplish things!'

Hey Jack! Maybe I missed something... So.... starting content creation on patreon will give me the reach and the following as well. And from there I can start working on building strong connections with fans so they could become superfans. OR Patreon is still a platform for Super Fans, and new creators are kind of screwed?! ALSO WIth blockchain and web3 emerging, are you guys thinking of getting ahead of the crowd (again) and build upon this new tech?

✨🙌🏻🖤

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Money. We all need it to live these days. Many of us (especially creators) don’t have much disposable money. I’d love to be a true follower of dozens of fellow creators on Patreon, but I can’t afford to. I’m sad that money is a central theme inside and outside of Patreon - It’s a hindrance to the true goal.

It's all good, but you need to allow people on Patreon to have memberships without registration. Otherwise, they come to me asking whether they can pay somewhere else, where they already have an account. Also, I've sent you a letter once, on Patreon, but perhaps it was lost in thousands of other letters, but there was kind of a pitch for improving a musician's life at patreon, I mean the musicians who don't want to sing covers to get attention. The new player is a good thing, but it's still thousands of years away from even Bandcamp's player, which is thousands of years away from Spotify and Apple Music, which are still terrible music players, but 'good enough' for the majority. Wish you all the best anyway! Thanks for the early days of Pomplamoose and all your videos on this channel - they're inspiring.

Ranking was not good for Facebook's business model. The business model was ads. Should have been freemium. Free with ads to get reach, then pay a subscription to make the ads go away. In the paid subscription, the user could control the ranking.

commenting to help the alg

Well, I can probably do the screaming if only because I'm too overwhelmed to do the rest.

Please advertise the commerce and free follow aspect of patreon, I think the majority of people only think of patreon as a subscription based way of supporting creators they like, and aren't even aware there are more one time payment options/ways to be apart of the more exclusive community there. I also think the overwhelming subscription-ification of damn near everything possible to buy is extremely fatiguing, it makes people feel they aren't getting true value and wonder where all their money is going. One time payment/single and direct exchanges like what your version of commerce seems to be offering is a lot more inviting, so the shift needs to be making people aware that patreon is in fact capable and more than that general perception.

What's the incentive to downloading a new app when you can still engage with your artists on the apps that already exists?

This dude is a walking manic episode. Gotta love him 😂

Appreciate you Jack! What a FUCKING video WOW

great work jack! but i HATE the motivational style, control the sheep and show them how to be sheep style. this is like an APPLE AD. LOL.

Everything he just said, just imagine an APPLE logo behind him.

"And more people started spending more time on Facebook." Meaning more boomers spent more time arguing with bots.

Second

the music in the BG is just awful .. why ??

I think this is all bull sh, we don't more platforms for keep the artist slavery path, and that's why you ask for more and more from the artists, because you as platforms need content and artist that bring clients to you, I hope is shift now but in the path of disconnection, all my love to all the artist searching space and good connections, the internet is spoiled and we all know that

First

Yes it's true the fantasy is over now go get a job that's what i told myself.