The Digital Gold Rush

It is interesting how human beings come up with different ways to make a living. Decades ago, before technology became as advanced at it is today, human beings had different ways of making money. The focus wasn’t just on education/jobs, people also made a living through other farming and other handiworks. However, with the advent of technology, there came a rise of digital-related jobs. Of all these jobs, one that has gained global recognition in recent years is content monetization. Over the years, the term “content creators” have gained popularity.

To simply put, content monetization as the name implies means monetizing content whether it is videos, posts or articles. Today, like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and the other well known apps can be monetized. These apps make their own money through adds and traffic generated. This brings me to today’s Hive Learners’ prompt: Monetization. What are your thoughts on content monetization? We cannot deny the fact that it has helped many people secure a source of living. In the same vein, we can also put it that if also prevents people, particularly youths from getting actual jobs. Now, the question is; is content monetization good or bad?

Many countries out there, including mine are struggling. Using my country as a casestudy, Nigeria produces thousands of graduates every year, hundreds of them come out with first class distinction. Thousands with second class. But the absurd thing about it is that the government have absolutely zero plans of creating jobs for them. It’s an endless cycle; students graduate from high school, they write entry exams into the university, they school for 4 to 5 years and in the end, they roam the streets around looking for jobs.

Content monetization has significantly helped a lot of people, particularly youths in many aspects. Financially, it has helped them to be able to foot their bills. Mentally, it has also brought many out of depression caused by a lack of job.

Almost everything good has a downside. Despite the fact that content monetization has so many advantages, it also has its own disadvantages and one of the disadvantages that tops the list is the extent people go to actually create content. Today, the internet is filled with annoying, absurd and extremely annoying videos all in the name of content. Over the years, people have taken rage baiting to another level simply because they want to create content that will generate traffic ; something that would make the audience angry. For example, a content creator can decide to create content about politics. While the whole world complains about a particular president, a content creator can decide to do otherwise, knowing well that that would generate reaction the audience.

While content monetization is generally a blessing to human beings, people are misusing the opportunity and it is only a matter of time before they start to see the downside of their actions.

Now, to answer the Hive Learners’ prompt question: has content monetization many of us more lazy to pursue actual work? Absolutely not! Making money through content is not a piece of cake. You don’t just wake up one day and find millions of likes and comments on your content. It takes time, patience and a whole bunch of other resources. Content creation is even more difficult than some actual jobs. I read a post from Two Glasses, a Nigerian Comedian. In that post, he mentioned that he had been creating content for seven years before he finally hit fame. Seven good years! That’s like working for seven years without getting paid. The big and successful content creators today didn’t just magically get there. They had to work their way up! They fought obstacles. They cleared and made new paths and today, they are in high position.

In summary, content monetization is not an easy feat. It is also a blessing to humans, we just need to know what to call “content.”

Thanks for reading.