Fan First

When authentic fandom and a real point of view beat budget, briefs, and paid reach

Attention Economy

Everyone Wants to Be a Creator. Few Know What the Job Is.

Oct 13, 2026

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10 min read

Everyone Wants to Be a Creator. Few Know What the Job Is.

Universities are building creator degrees, YouTube narrowly edged out TV as Americans' go-to news source, and creators can now hand fans an AI version of themselves.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Characters Don't Stay Where You Put Them

Sep 22, 2026

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8 min read

Characters Don't Stay Where You Put Them

A restructure moved Halo's next game to a new team, a movie kept Sonic off the shelf, and Aftermath says Fortnite is hollowing characters out. I read that last one pretty differently.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Gaming Is Eating the World, One Headline at a Time

Sep 15, 2026

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8 min read

Gaming Is Eating the World, One Headline at a Time

Kojima lands at Xbox, a head of state calls games culture, and the NFL is starting to realize its fans can't find the game. Everything is pointing in the same direction.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Gaming Sets the Cultural Agenda. Everything Else Is Catching Up.

Sep 8, 2026

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8 min read

Gaming Sets the Cultural Agenda. Everything Else Is Catching Up.

Rockstar set Netflix records. Xbox capped the cloud. And the US Open just experienced what every sporting institution will eventually have to reckon with.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Sep 1, 2026

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7 min read

When the Price Is the Point

Creator fees are a lightning rod because nobody agrees on what creators are actually worth. This week's signals tell you why that's the wrong argument entirely.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

The Consent Economy Is Here Whether Platforms Are Ready or Not

Aug 25, 2026

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8 min read

The Consent Economy Is Here Whether Platforms Are Ready or Not

Twitch handed its creators to Amazon's AI, Rockstar is hunting leakers through Discord servers, and Gen Z just told every brand how and where to meet them.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Aug 18, 2026

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8 min read

The Cool Factor Can't Be Bought

Fortnite is showcasing a new gaming museum season, YouTube quietly broke how the industry prices creator content, and the NBA crossed $2B in ad sales like it was nothing.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Aug 4, 2026

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6 min read

The Access Arms Race

Gaming's ownership debate just got a new wrinkle, video game IP is quietly becoming Hollywood's most reliable franchise machine, and $44 billion says the creator economy isn't slowing down.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Jul 28, 2026

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6 min read

Access Over Ownership

Creator pay is expected to hit $21 billion. Gaming is trading discs for ad rolls. And the brands still writing static endorsement checks are negotiating against athletes who now own the room.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Creators Don't Just Cover the Moment. They Are the Moment.

Jul 21, 2026

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7 min read

Creators Don't Just Cover the Moment. They Are the Moment.

The World Cup is over. What it proved about creators, attention, and brands still writing blank checks to the wrong rooms outlasting the trophy.

Nick Gasparyan

Fan First

When the Culture Talks Back, Platforms Better Listen

Jul 14, 2026

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7 min read

When the Culture Talks Back, Platforms Better Listen

Creators are reshaping streaming from the ground up, and this week proves what happens when brands and platforms forget who actually holds the attention.

Nick Gasparyan

Fan First

You Can't Own It Anymore. They're Not Even Hiding It.

Jul 7, 2026

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9 min read

You Can't Own It Anymore. They're Not Even Hiding It.

PlayStation just made the access economy official in gaming. The World Cup is still rewriting sports culture in the US And the gaming industry is burning people it can't afford to lose.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

Jun 30, 2026

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7 min read

The Billion-Dollar Scoreboard

Top 50 creator annual earnings crossed $1B. The World Cup is rewriting the marketing playbook. And GTA 6 just reminded everyone what a true cultural event looks like.

Nick Gasparyan

Attention Economy

The Studio Era Is Back. This Time, Creators Are Running It.

Jun 16, 2026

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6 min read

The Studio Era Is Back. This Time, Creators Are Running It.

Wall Street just discovered what YouTube built a decade ago, and the rollup is on.

Nick Gasparyan

Fan First

Gaming and football just stress-tested your strategy

Jun 9, 2026

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8 min read

Gaming and football just stress-tested your strategy

Two tentpoles, back to back, same story underneath. Most brand teams only clocked one.

Nick Gasparyan

Fan First

Everyone Wants to Be a Creator. Few Know What the Job Is.

Characters Don't Stay Where You Put Them

Gaming Is Eating the World, One Headline at a Time

Gaming Sets the Cultural Agenda. Everything Else Is Catching Up.

When the Price Is the Point

The Consent Economy Is Here Whether Platforms Are Ready or Not

The Cool Factor Can't Be Bought

The Access Arms Race

Access Over Ownership

Creators Don't Just Cover the Moment. They Are the Moment.

When the Culture Talks Back, Platforms Better Listen

You Can't Own It Anymore. They're Not Even Hiding It.

The Billion-Dollar Scoreboard

The Studio Era Is Back. This Time, Creators Are Running It.

Gaming and football just stress-tested your strategy

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