The Creator Casino

The House Always Wins

Ah, the Creator. The hottest buzzword for social media platform billionaires, startup CMOs, and guys selling scammy online courses. (But actually, would you buy a Create.Repeat course? Asking for a friend.)

The word creator has been around forever. I mean, you could trace it all the way back to… God? But lately, it’s taken on a new meaning, one that feels inescapable. Every brand, every platform, every corporate marketing deck is obsessed with “creators”. But what does that even mean anymore?

Back in the mid-2010s, when I was making content for BuzzFeed, the word influencer started showing up. At the time, it was mostly people posing at Coachella, holding up a bottle of kombucha they got paid $3,000 to promote. Fast forward to today, and that same person is still selling the same thing, except now they know how to make videos to a trending sound instead of a static post.

So why did influencer get replaced with creator?

Because it sounds better. More serious, more skilled. It’s a rebrand—just like when Facebook became Meta, Twitter became X, or Dunkin’ Donuts became Dunkin’.

But being a creator doesn’t just mean making things, it means playing a game where the odds are never in your favor. If that sounds familiar, it’s because casinos perfected the model first.

If you’ve ever walked through a Vegas casino, you might’ve (or probably didn’t) noticed a few things.

There are no clocks, no windows—nothing to remind you of how much time (or money) you’ve lost. Slot machines keep you hooked with random rewards, flashing lights, and loud noises even when you don’t actually win. Everything is engineered to keep you playing, using dopamine spikes and psychological tricks to make you believe your big moment is just one more spin away.

Now replace the slot machines with social media platforms, and tell me the difference.

Every time you post, you’re pulling the lever, hoping for a viral moment. Algorithms are built on variable rewards. You get just enough engagement to keep you coming back, but never enough to make you feel secure.

And just like the casino, the house always wins.

Social platforms don’t care if you win or lose. They just need you to keep playing. Scrolling, posting, engaging, feeding the machine.

Back in my day (2015), going viral meant something. A big post could bring in thousands of followers, which meant you could grow an audience and build something of your own.

But now we’re in the For You Era.

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has flat-out admitted that follower count doesn’t matter anymore. Platforms decide what gets seen, not the people who actually follow you. The idea that going viral builds an audience is dead because an audience is no longer the goal.

Think about it: If platforms gave you a stable, direct connection to your audience, you wouldn’t have to rely on them so much. You could leave and still have a way to reach your people. Instead, they keep you trapped in the cycle, chasing visibility that disappears the second you stop posting.

So what’s the reward for going viral? Surely there’s a prize, right?

Nope.

I’m sure if you put ten random creators in a room, at least six of them have had a “viral moment”.

Two months ago, my wife posted a TikTok of our dog’s long eyelashes and it got 2.2 million views. We were giddy! Until her next video got less than 300 views. And we were a little devastated.

That’s the game. That’s the casino.

You spend hours at the slot machine, finally hit a jackpot, the bells and buzzers go off—only to realize you’ve won seven bucks in nickels that you’ll probably lose in the next 30 minutes.

I’m not anti-creator. I’m pro-creator.

But more than that, I’m pro-creative.

The problem is that social media tricks us into thinking they’re the same thing. That posting every day is the work. That if you’re not constantly uploading, you’re falling behind. That every other creator is outpacing you.

But that’s the trap.

Because the platforms that claim to love creators are the same ones introducing AI-agent influencers and shady Terms of Service that opt you into training their machine for free.

They don’t love you.

They love the attention you generate.

They need you posting constantly so the audience stays engaged, the advertisers keep paying, and the machine keeps running.

And the second they figure out how to get that same engagement without you?

You’re gone.

Even some of the biggest creators have hit this wall. MrBeast recently admitted that he never prioritized his mental health because it would have “slowed him down.” And he’s the biggest creator in the world. If even he struggles with this, what chance do the rest of us have?

Meanwhile, platforms are rolling out AI ‘creators’—synthetic influencers who don’t sleep, don’t burn out, and don’t demand to be paid. The dream for them is a world where the algorithm makes all the content and humans just scroll.

If you think they care about “creators,” think again.

It’s okay to step off the treadmill for a second and reconnect with your creative soul. Do you want to create something that lasts or do you just want to chase 15 seconds of fame?

If I’m being honest, for most of my career, I was chasing fame. And maybe there’s still a part of me that wants it.

But chasing fame only leads to one thing: burnout… Or worse.

Last year, I challenged myself to post every day for a month for my personal project, Videotape Magazine. I made it 17 days before I burned out completely.

When we launched the Create.Repeat podcast, I went 10 weeks straight putting out content and it drove me into a hole of depression.

Maybe you’re different. Maybe you can grind forever.

But I know I’m not alone in this.

It’s okay to take a break from being a Creator and find yourself as a Creative again.

Go back to the things you used to love. Find inspiration in old books, movies, records—not just short-form content shot on a Sony FX3 with a nostalgic color grade. Stop studying imitation art and go get lost in the real thing.

Visit a museum. See live music. Take a pottery class.

There’s so much more world out there. And as a Creative soul, it’s your job to explore it.

So here’s my challenge to you:

What’s one creative thing you’d do today if social media didn’t exist?

Whatever your answer is—go do that instead.

Because at the end of the day, going viral doesn’t mean anything.

The house always wins.

Keep creating and repeating (on your terms),

- Zack

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Links keeping us creative:

🌍 State of Create: A report from Patreon exploring the future of creativity, platforms, and the evolving creator economy.

🔁 Create.Repeat: 100 free phone wallpapers for the Create.Repeat community. Thanks for being here.

📐 DesignSystems.com: Figma’s hub for mastering design systems, from best practices to real-world case studies.

🛠️ Super~Goods: A curated collection of links on design, tools, and visual inspiration—built for knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

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We launched Take It or Leave It, a weekend newsletter exclusively for paid subscribers. It’s part advice column, part mood board, and part behind-the-scenes look at Create.Repeat—a more personal dive into what it really takes to keep creating.

Each week, we answer questions from our community, submitted through Substack Chat, offering our thoughts on the creative process, career struggles, and everything in between.

This week’s advice is based on the question…

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This week, we’re happy to spotlight Oeuvre Designs—a visual artist and designer crafting stunning posters inspired by music, artists, and culture.

Blending Mediums, Expanding Vision

Right now, Oeuvre Designs is pushing the boundaries of their creative process—experimenting with a mix of digital and physical elements to add depth and texture to their work. Their Instagram isn’t just a portfolio; it’s an evolving series of designs inspired by favorite albums and artists, a project that continues to grow with each new piece.

The Process Over Perfection

For Oeuvre Designs, creativity isn’t about flawless execution—it’s about progress.

“It’s easy to get stuck overthinking or chasing perfection, but some of my favorite designs came from ideas that weren’t ‘perfect’—just authentic. The process is where the magic happens, so embrace it and keep moving forward.”

The Takeaway

Creativity thrives in momentum. Keep experimenting, keep evolving, and let the work speak for itself.

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Create.Repeat is a community for creatives.

The Create.Repeat Substack is a project designed to be a weekly diary on creativity. Sharing inspiration for artists to keep creating and repeating.

Written and curated by Zack Evans & James Warren Taylor

Each week we will be sharing recent thoughts on creativity, some links helping us stay creative, and a talent show featuring an artist from the community. Thank you for engaging with us.

History repeats. Create the future.

Check out some of our other posts:

Success is Boring

No One Owes You Attention