The fraternity rush, that peculiar American ritual of judgment and belonging, has found a new iteration — one in which the pledges arrive dressed in white, clutching smartphones instead of solo cups, and compete not in feats of endurance but in the creation of branded content for a social media app, all within twenty minutes.
Such was the scene on a January evening near the University of Southern California, where more than twenty students vied for admission to USC Reach, a campus organization that functions as something between a creator incubator and a professional networking society. The club, founded in 2017, has spawned a national nonprofit, Reach Nationals, which now claims more than 150 chapters across twenty states. Its alumni include Alan Chikin Chow, whose YouTube following exceeds 101 million subscribers and who recently sold a scripted series to Netflix. (One imagines the Greek letters of traditional fraternities looking on with a certain bewilderment.)
Dylan Huey, the 24-year-old chief executive of Reach Nationals, says brands have begun approaching the organization directly. "We're getting brands left and right reaching out to us because they know we have access to all these students all in one conglomerate," Mr. Huey said, using the language of holding companies to describe what is, technically, a college club.
The commercial interest is not difficult to explain. According to Edison Research, nearly one-third of Americans between 13 and 24 now identify themselves as content creators. The name-image-likeness market for student athletes alone is projected to reach $4.5 billion by 2027, according to the sports technology company Opendorse.
Universities have responded accordingly. The University of Texas at San Antonio now offers what it describes as the first dedicated major for aspiring content creators, with enrollment growing from zero to 145 students in a single academic year. Syracuse will debut a content-creation minor this fall. The University of Miami has launched a minor in Strategic Social Media Communication. (One waits for the establishment of endowed chairs.)
Chad Mahood, an associate professor at UTSA who designed his institution's program, says the curriculum focuses on critical thinking and audience analysis rather than the vagaries of platform algorithms. "AI can help you make something better," Mr. Mahood said, "but not if you don't understand who your audience is."
Mr. Huey, for his part, suggests that traditional academic instruction may struggle to keep pace. "You can teach about influencer strategies," he said, "but it's hard to teach someone how to be viral. There's no textbook that can do that."
On the rooftop that January night, the successful applicants emerged from the elevator to cheers and pizza. They posed for photographs against the downtown skyline, throwing up peace signs and heart hands. The entertainment capital of the world glowed beneath them, which is to say, exactly where it has always been.
Original story published in The Hollywood Reporter: "Creator U: Inside the Influencer Frat"