Digital Sharecropping

A term coined to describe the precarious position of content creators who build their entire audience and income on platforms they do not own. Just as historical sharecroppers worked land owned by others and were subject to the landowner's terms, digital sharecroppers are vulnerable to platform algorithm changes, policy shifts, demonetization, and account termination. Roberto Blake uses this term to advocate for creators owning their audience through email lists and owned media.