These top creator lists have existed for as long as I can remember, with Forbes being one of the first. The problem with these lists I’ve started to realize is that the internet was in a much different place back when Forbes published its top list. TikTok didn’t exist yet, the majority of big creators were centralized on YouTube or Twitch, and it was much easier to understand who the biggest creators were because there was a wide margin between them and everyone else, in my opinion.
Fast forward to now, and there are multiple social platforms with algorithms that feed people exactly what they want to see, which has allowed hundreds of niche communities to exist. I predicted this trend where macro creators become a thing of the past, and that the biggest creators and artists today are just at the top of their niche. I’m not saying these niches are small, but they might not be visible to anyone who isn’t being served that content on their FYP (For You Page).
The Problem With These Lists
Two weeks ago, Rolling Stone dropped their list of the 25 Most Influential Creators for 2026. I know everyone on this list because I doomscroll like a 3rd grader, but it got me thinking that outside of the top 12, most people reading this article have probably never heard of these creators before. Everyone’s FYP is more subjective and unique than ever. If you don’t watch content from a certain community, no matter how popular the creators at the top are, they aren’t a part of your daily internet intake.
The second issue I have is whether or not there’s actually any kind of criteria for what makes someone a top creator. I’m having a hard time figuring out a metric that makes sense. It shouldn’t be total followers or total views/impressions, and not every creator is going to be big on every platform. How are you supposed to compare a top streamer to a large TikTok creator posting daily? I think we all agree that some creators are clearly at the top (Kai, Druski, Alix Earle), but once you get past the top few, it’s impossible to understand how the rest will be chosen. And this is going to become even harder as the creator economy continues to widen out and more creators are in the middle tier.
What Lists Should Look Like Instead
My suggestions would be for these publications to start exploring more niche lists of top creators. Instead of a generic top creator list, publications should run top lists for specific niches. For example, top 25 lifestyle or travel creators. Forbes’s 30 Under 30 used to be just 30 names, but now it’s broken up into categories across media, education, tech, music, etc. If publications want to continue to make creator lists, they really need to explore how to break these into specific niches. One clear problem I foresee with this theory is that there’s an infinite number of niches, with more being created every day. That’s a problem for another day.
The Big Takeaway
The internet is no longer one giant audience. It’s thousands of micro-communities, each with their own creators, cultures, and definitions of influence. Instead of trying to rank the entire internet, publications should focus on the creators shaping the individual communities that make it up.
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