The Media Credit Score: When Personal Branding Stops Being Optional
Look, I know “personal branding” is already a thing. Everyone’s talking about it. But I don’t think people understand the gravity of what’s coming. What we are seeing with YouTube creators, TikTok stars, Instagram influencers…that isn’t peak. It is the baseline.
In 10 years, what they are doing today will be the bare minimum. And if you’re not building your online presence now, you’re not just missing an opportunity but you’re pricing yourself out entirely.
The Pattern We Keep Ignoring
The “Creator Economy” Market Size
2024: $205 billion
2033 projections: $1.3+ trillion
40 years ago, getting a top opportunity was having a decent resume, knowing someone or even being in the right place at the right time. That was literally 90% of the work. The bar was low. You could walk into a Fortune 500 company with a firm handshake and a college degree.
Then social media showed up, at first it was just a way to share updates with friends, family, the world. Essentially an information highway of what everyone was up to or who they were or wanting to be. Expression, not economics.
But somewhere along the way, the shift happened. Posting became monetizable. Early on most people dismissed it. “Not worth the effort for the money.” Even a time when YouTube and JustinTV wasn’t done for money but just for sake of uploading videos. Fast forward to today and being a content creator is one of the top career aspirations for kids. Not a side hustle. A career!
This is not slowing down. It’s only accelerating!
The Bar Keeps Rising
Here is the thing about progress, what used to be achievable becomes harder as everyone else levels up. The bar for mediocrity slowly rises.
Think about college admissions. I’ve heard and seen stories of people getting into Ivy League schools in ‘50s, ‘60, ‘70s, ‘80s because they hit the bare minimum. Today? You have got students with 4.4 GPAs, 5 extracurriculars, volunteer work, leadership positions, near perfect test scores and they are still getting rejected.
Why? Because when everyone meets the standard, the standard changes.
“Credential Inflation”
The same thing is happening with careers. Degrees use to matter. Differentiators. Then they became requirements. Now they are the bare minimum. Now you need something else to stand out.
That “something else” is becoming your media presence. Your YOU page.
What is a YOU Page?
Think of it like a credit score but for media. Not an official metric (at least not yet!) but a universally understood expectation.
Employers won’t mandate it. They won’t say, “Show us your TikTok page or your podcast otherwise you can’t apply here.” But we all know how this works. If you’re hiring for say a designer and one candidate has their work showcased online (portfolio, case studies, tutorials, proof of expertise) and the other one does not. You’re hiring the one you can see and approve of, hands down.
It’s not written in the job description but it’s implied. And eventually, it will be so standard that not having one will raise questions.
This Isn’t Just For “Creative” Jobs
You might be thinking “Sure, for designers, marketers, content people BUT not for doctors, lawyers, engineers!”
Wrong.
Let’s take doctors. Hospitals and clinics are businesses and more often then not, for profit. If you’re competing against other doctors for a position, how does the hospital differentiate you? Your MCAT score? Your medical school track record? Everyone will reach higher standards and that will not be a differentiator anymore.
In a world where the baseline keeps rising you NEED to brand yourself. Maybe you are the doctor who explains complex medical topics on YouTube. Maybe you are the one with patient testimonials and thought leadership on LinkedIn. Maybe you have a newsletter where you break down the latest research in your specialty.
The point is, when everyone has the credentials, what separates you?
“Old Hiring” vs “New Hiring”
what mattered then vs. what matters now
Your media presence becomes the tiebreaker. Then it becomes the expectation. Then it becomes the requirement.
The Inflection Point
So when does this flip from “optional” become “essential”?
My bet, when the chronically online generation enters management positions. The people who grew up on social media, who instinctively check someone’s online presence before making decision. If I had to put a date on it, roughly, 2030-2035.
These managers, startups won’t think twice about Googling you, scrolling through your linkedin and checking if you have any public presence. To them, it’s not invasive, it’s obvious! “Show me your work” doesn’t mean a PDF portfolio. It means, show me your presence, your ideas, your proof that you exist in the conversation.
The shift happens gradually, then suddenly.
Who Gets Left Behind?
Here is the uncomfortable truth. People who don’t build their YOU page will fall further and further behind.
As technology advances, so does competition. The bar for entry increases because what used to be the norm is now harder due to the sheer numbers. More people, companies, bots competing for the same opportunities means you need more to stand out.
Those without a media presence? They will likely end up in one of two places.
Basic jobs that require no social proof, roles so commoditized that presence does not matter.
Dependent on systems like UBI (which is another can of worms all together, save that for another day).
And here is the darker truth, even professions that seem “safe” from this are not immune. The world is becoming more visual, more digital, more mediated. Human interaction is declining. Automated processes are rising. Media is not just a channel, it’s becoming the primary form of communication.
“The Media Divide”
As dystopian as it sounds, we are moving towards a world where how you present yourself digitally matters more than how you present yourself physically. Your “media credit score”, however informal, will determine what doors open for you.
This Is Already Happening
Look around you. The signals are everywhere.
Influencers are getting book deals, VC funding, brand deals, speaking opportunities, board positions, etc. Not because of traditional credentials but because they have an audience. Companies are hiring “creators” as marketers, strategists and even executive level advisors.
Meanwhile highly qualified people with no online presence are invisible. They might be brilliant, but if no one knows they exist, do they matter in the marketplace?
I am not saying this is good or bad. I am saying it’s happening. And the people who see it early and build accordingly will win. The ones who resist or ignore it will wonder why opportunities stopped coming their way.
So What Do You Do?
Start building. Now.
Document your thoughts. Share your work. Put your ideas into the world, even if they’re rough. Even if no one is watching yet.
Because 10 years from now, having a media presence will not be a “nice to have.” It will be a “must have.” And trying to build one from scratch when it is already expected? That’s like showing up to a 4.4 GPA world with a 3.0.
You will be too late.
The future belongs to the people who treat their personal brand like infrastructure, not a side hustle. People who understand that in a world drowning in noise, being visible is the new literacy.
You don’t need to be an influencer. You don’t need millions of followers. But you do need to exist in the digital conversation. You need a YOU page that says, “I am here. This is what I do. This is why I matter.”
Start now. Build it piece by piece. Beacause the clock is ticking and the bar is rising.
And I’ll say it once again, what creators are doing today will be the bare minimum tomorrow.
Do not get left behind.