These days, it seems like everyone wants to be an influencer — but it takes more than picking up your phone and posting.
Syracuse University is paving the way for the future generation of content creators.
What You Need To Know
Syracuse University is launching its Center for the Creator Economy
The center will teach students about the world of content creation and give them the tools, resources and skillsets they need to enter that industry
The university says the time to prepare students for this industry is now
“This is something that was overdue in our country, and we’re glad to have the leading position and be able to bring these opportunities to our students,” said Mark Lodato, dean of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
The school is building a first-of-its-kind Center for the Creator Economy, combining all the tools, resources and industry connections aspiring content creators need to become successful in the digital sphere.
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“The center is really going to focus on this, this emerging transformative ecosystem of creators and artists who are essentially building their own brand on social media platforms and monetizing that brand for their own benefit as well as the benefit of brand partners,” said Mike Haynie, dean of Syracuse’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
Haynie says the center reflects what students are already prioritizing.
“All over our campus, there are students right now, working and creating in the creator economy,” Haynie said. “And it really was those students who identified for us, an opportunity.”
SU senior Sylvie Feldman is one of those students.
“I grew up watching all sorts of beauty and lifestyle creators on YouTube, and I always kind of wanted to be them,” Feldman said.
Feldman got what she wanted. Now, she has thousands of followers and her makeup videos have gotten her millions of views, brand deals and other perks.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to go to college at that point in time because I was like, oh, you know, I have this huge following, like what if I just, you know, continue this creator thing?” Feldman explained.
But she didn’t put her feet up yet. Despite all the success she’s had, the self-taught creator says she still has a lot to learn about the industry.
“I think the creator economy would definitely have benefited me in terms of learning, like the entrepreneurship side or the business side, or, you know, just showing me strategies and ways to like get people interested.”
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Lodato says that’s exactly the goal of this new center.
“What we want to do is take students where they are,” The dean explained. “If they’re Newhouse students, and give them a better appreciation of the business side, and conversely, for Whitman students who are studying business, they need to understand what the communications and creation side looks like.”
When the center officially opens, the hope is that it will solidify Syracuse’s standing as a cutting-edge university that readily adapts to meet the needs of a rapidly shifting digital landscape.
“We’re trying to make a space where students can really emerge more equipped than any other student in the United States when it comes to this space,” Lodato said.
The university says the center will be an invaluable resource for students looking to make their name in the world of content creators.
“If we do this right, this center will be one of those things that students and families point to and say, ‘I have to send my kid to Syracuse,’” Dean Haynie said.
The Center for the Creator Economy will open next spring will be accessible to all interested students regardless of their school or major. That includes athletes who want to build their brand for Name Image and Likeness agreements.
In the meantime, Syracuse University is celebrating the launch of the news center this week with a Launch Party on Wednesday and a ‘Cuse Creator Con on Thursday.