The [Digital] Identity Economy

In this day and age comes a fundamental shift — from an economy of products and services to one of people and identities — one that continues to shape up alongside the future.

Where are we in the “now”?

We have already shifted into a landscape where people focus on digital presence to drive community, to drive value, to drive the economy. Selling is social, now all about capitalizing on ways to provide value by crafting powerful stories to hook others. We are now in the so-called “Identity Economy”, a culture that helps you thrive if you have a compelling story to share — or a life that others want for themselves.

• You don’t pitch your product, you don’t serve features. Rather, you sell your story.

• You have the hooks-context-drive method to writing, the “start with a question” prompt to speak. All these strategies are used for one main thing: getting people to listen.

• You tap into the goals of the consumer, but you actually sell them the outcome.

• You give people your story, and this gets the ultimate buy-in.

It’s not an industrial, time-centered economy anymore. People are actively seeking to get rewarded for the change that their services bring, instead of the time they spend on tasks. Add to that, the gig economy and shift to digital bring about easily accessible means of sharing every detail of our lives. As our daily interactions online eclipse our actual physical interactions — we have quite a big challenge to face.

What’s the challenge?

From simple physical advertising efforts such as printouts and posters to 5-second TV announcements, we’ve forged a new complicated way of making others listen. We’ve moved to a competitive side to promoting value, where agencies develop 20-point marketing data points, 10+ CRMs for different channels, and 100+ different workflows. For example, 3rd party cookies collect our data, which essentially is the currency for companies and businesses to get us to purchase.

Businesses also now face a constant crisis of perfecting the best ways to acquire, activate and retain audiences — through their online presence. There is now extensive effort on framing the right messaging, and very meticulous eyes for cultivating a unique brand. It requires a specific type of value delivery. If you’re one of the “traditional”, chances are you’re currently on the way to publishing a TikTok account just this past week.

With all these issues, comes the bottleneck of creating content that’s both polished and clean, yet still relatable-slash-authentic for the end user.

There’s also this ongoing pressure to be perfect, convincing, and “authentic” online. Sometimes it even trumps other skills if you’re great with an audience — keeping them engaged and believing in you. But with this comes the difficulty of standing out. The rise of so-called gurus and experts is a testament to just how easy it is to manipulate others with curated false stories and experiences.

So, what comes next?

With all this, human connectivity now is about articulating the best parts of your story via technology. In a way, our digitalized identities speak volumes to the value we provide as people. It shapes the trajectory of our interactions and even drives major life decisions for others.

People nowadays know about the extent of how the digital world encompasses their professional and personal lives. With the advent of “quiet quitting” and “the great resignation”, modern job hunting now covers hiring managers swaying job seekers with the promise of growth, instead of mere benefits. People expect to join jobs that foster a collective, shared vision for the future. There is an emphasis placed on culture, collaboration, and authenticity.

This future of work, and the future of social life, is all about curating an “identity” that one can leverage and continuously innovate. It’s our “now”, and it’s our springboard for what awaits us.

BLOG CONTENT INSPIRED BY: (@medium)
Vanessa Misoon — Episode #1: I mean, what’s an ‘Identity Economy’, anyway?
Patrick Corbett — Our Sexuality Will Determine The Future of Work and Our Value in the People Economy

The Story Behind 🔔

Hey there! 👋 My name is Fae. I am a gen-stack creative hobbyist who aspires to make impact one small idea at a time. 🚀

I’m currently discovering my passions and exploring a career mindset shift. In my downtime, I love all things poetry, journaling and random creations as expressions for my messy brain tap.

Let’s connect! 😉