Recent Editions

Giselle Ugarte created an AI avatar of herself (right). Photo courtesy of Giselle Ugarte
Creator Economy

A Creator Creates a Digital Twin

By Alex Perry · Jul 27, 2023 1:25pm PDT
Social media creators have been exploring how they can use generative artificial intelligence to promote their personal brands, find inspiration and offload work. Giselle Ugarte, an online performance coach who has nearly 300,000 followers on TikTok, is testing whether the technology can help her with a particularly time-consuming task:... Social media creators have been exploring how they can use generative artificial intelligence to...
Photo via Shutterstock
Creator Economy

Meta Eyes AI Tools for Connecting Creators and Fans

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 26, 2023 3:45pm PDT
Meta Platforms is considering artificial intelligence products that help creators connect with their fans, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on an earnings call on Wednesday. Zuckerberg sees a variety of uses for AI agents, or chatbots, including for creators and businesses. “There are going to be a handful of experiences around helping people... Meta Platforms is considering artificial intelligence products that help creators connect with...
Photo via Shutterstock
Creator Economy

YouTube Pops, Snap Fizzles

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 25, 2023 3:00pm PDT
YouTube broke a streak of three straight revenue declines, which spells good news for creators who earn a portion of revenue from ads running on their videos, and indicates the broader digital advertising market is starting to recover—at least for some tech giants. Snap, on the other hand, reported that its revenue fell from last year. YouTube’s... YouTube broke a streak of three straight revenue declines, which spells good news for creators...
Twitter rebranded to X. Photo by Erin Woo
What to Expect From Tech Earnings; Musk Rebrands Twitter
By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 24, 2023 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment
Twitter rebranded to X. Photo by Erin Woo
Creator Economy

What to Expect From Tech Earnings; Musk Rebrands Twitter

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 24, 2023 2:00pm PDT · 1 comment
It’s already shaping up to be a busy week, with a parade of quarterly tech earnings and Elon Musk’s surprise announcement that he’s rebranding Twitter to X (more on that in a moment).Second-quarter results from Snap and Alphabet on Tuesday and Meta Platforms on Wednesday will give insight into the state of digital advertising. YouTube, owned by... It’s already shaping up to be a busy week, with a parade of quarterly tech earnings and Elon Musk...
Credit: Shane Burke
Creator Economy

How Eight Social Networks Have Treated Disappearing Stories

By Alex Perry · Jul 20, 2023 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment
As the chart above shows, most social networks have dabbled with a feature, often dubbed disappearing stories, that lets users post photos or videos that are set to disappear off the app after a set amount of time, typically 24 hours. Twitch earlier this month announced it was jumping into the fray. The offering from Amazon-owned Twitch... As the chart above shows, most social networks have dabbled with a feature, often dubbed...
Karat co-founders Will Kim (left) and Eric Wei. Photo courtesy of company
Creator Economy

Card Startup Karat Raises $70 Million, Bucking Funding Trend

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 19, 2023 2:40pm PDT
Even after funding for creator economy startups collapsed, some companies have been able to raise new capital, we reported last month. The latest is Karat. The startup, which offers business credit cards and financial services for creators, on Wednesday announced $70 million in Series B funding, including $30 million in debt financing from... Even after funding for creator economy startups collapsed, some companies have been able to raise...
SAG-AFTRA members and supporters protest on July 18 in New York City. Photo by Getty.
Creator Economy

Influencers Walk a Fine Line as Hollywood Strikes

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 18, 2023 2:57pm PDT
Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Cameo, the video shout-out app that once employed nearly 400 workers, enacted at least its third round of job cuts Tuesday, my colleague Natasha and I reported. The company told laid off employees it was a financial decision. Cameo got popular in 2020 as a creator platform that seemed to... Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Cameo, the video shout-out app that once...
Photo via Shutterstock
How Instagram Can Keep Threads Growth Going
By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 17, 2023 2:46pm PDT
Photo via Shutterstock
Creator Economy

How Instagram Can Keep Threads Growth Going

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 17, 2023 2:46pm PDT
On Friday, my colleague Sylvia and I published a behind-the-scenes report on how Instagram, after mulling a Twitter-type rival years ago, quickly moved to launch its text-based app Threads after Elon Musk took over Twitter. What struck me from our reporting is how much Instagram focused on creators from the start—even more so, according to some... On Friday, my colleague Sylvia and I published a behind-the-scenes report on how Instagram, after...
Fanhouse co-founder Rosie Nguyen (left) and Passes CEO Lucy Guo. Photos via YouTube/Karat and Celia D. Luna for The Information.
Creator Economy

Lucy Guo’s Passes to Buy Fanhouse

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 13, 2023 2:12pm PDT
A startup that rode the pandemic-era frenzy around OnlyFans is selling to a rival. Fanhouse, which operates a website where creators charge fans for exclusive content, has agreed to sell itself to Passes, a Miami-based membership service for creators and their superfans, Fanhouse CEO Khoi Le and Passes CEO Lucy Guo said in an interview with The... A startup that rode the pandemic-era frenzy around OnlyFans is selling to a rival. Fanhouse,...
Beehiiv co-founders Tyler Denk, Benjamin Hargett and Jake Hurd, from left to right. Photo courtesy of Beehiiv.
Creator Economy

The Newsletter Upstart Taking on Substack

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 12, 2023 2:35pm PDT
Two summers ago, when a group of employees who previously worked at newsletter and media startup Morning Brew was fundraising for their newsletter startup Beehiiv, they had to contend with Meta Platforms’ newly launched Bulletin newsletter service, Twitter’s Revue, as well as startup Substack, which had recently been valued at $650 million. A... Two summers ago, when a group of employees who previously worked at newsletter and media startup...
Arlene Resendiz, left. Credit: Ghost Agency.
Creator Economy

How the ‘Kanoodle Queen’ Found Success on TikTok Shop

By Alex Perry · Jul 11, 2023 2:58pm PDT
TikTok’s efforts to encourage its users to buy goods directly from the app, dubbed TikTok Shop, have gotten off to a slow start, as my colleagues reported earlier this year. But some influencers who have gained a following on the short-form video app have found some early success.Arlene Resendiz, a 29-year-old tutor who teaches math tips... TikTok’s efforts to encourage its users to buy goods directly from the app, dubbed TikTok Shop,...
Photo via Shutterstock
How Much Influencers Really Make
By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 10, 2023 2:29pm PDT
Photo via Shutterstock
Creator Economy

How Much Influencers Really Make

By Kaya Yurieff · Jul 10, 2023 2:29pm PDT
Earlier this year, we started asking our readers to submit their questions about the creator economy. Today I answer questions on how startups can reach creators, the downside of repurposing posts and how much influencers really make. Read previous Mailbag editions here and here. You can submit more questions through this page on The... Earlier this year, we started asking our readers to submit their questions about the creator...
Logan Paul and KSI pose with Prime Hydration bottles at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. Photo by Getty.
Creator Economy

The Creators Launching Their Own Brands; A Food Creator on Threads

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jul 6, 2023 3:30pm PDT
Our recently updated Creator Economy Database features four companies founded by some of the largest online creators, all of whom either raised funds or expanded their products to brick-and-mortar stores in the June quarter. Today we’re taking a closer look at what they’re up to. The pack includes YouTuber Emma Chamberlain’s coffee company, ... Our recently updated Creator Economy Database features four companies founded by some of the...
Photo by Getty
Creator Economy

Instagram’s Threads App Courts Creators; How One Reddit App Is Surviving

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jul 5, 2023 2:46pm PDT
Creators have told us they would like more texting features to reach fans on the platforms where they already spend time—and Instagram seems to be listening. Ahead of the rollout of Threads, its text-focused app expected to launch this week, it’s been courting creators. The separate app, which describes itself as a “text-based conversation... Creators have told us they would like more texting features to reach fans on the platforms where...
Table by Shane Burke
Creator Economy

Creator-Focused AI Startups Draw Investor Dollars (Chart)

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jul 3, 2023 2:54pm PDT
Artificial intelligence advances are piquing investor interest in creator economy startups, according to our latest update to the Creator Economy Database.Since we reported preliminary funding for creator economy startups in mid-June, we’ve tracked eight more funding rounds raised in the second quarter. Three back startups that use AI-based... Artificial intelligence advances are piquing investor interest in creator economy startups,...
Chart by Shane Burke
The Decline of #Pride
By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 29, 2023 3:12pm PDT · 1 comment
Chart by Shane Burke
Creator Economy

The Decline of #Pride

By Kaya Yurieff · Jun 29, 2023 3:12pm PDT · 1 comment
Fewer brands are posting about Pride month on Instagram and Facebook this year, according to new data from Emplifi, a provider of customer engagement software for social networks and companies like McDonald’s. The number of U.S. brands using Pride-related hashtags on Instagram declined 16% year-over-year, while interactions, meaning... Fewer brands are posting about Pride month on Instagram and Facebook this year, according to new...
Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy, at Spotify's Art of the Interview Session on June 20 in Cannes, France. Photo by Getty.
Creator Economy

Spotify’s Video-Podcast Surge

By Isabelle Sarraf · Jun 28, 2023 2:23pm PDT
For the past three years, Spotify has been trying to beef up its video podcasts as it tries to keep up with the TikTok-driven explosion in short-form video. The efforts are starting to show some progress. The music streaming service now hosts more than 100,000 podcast shows that publish video episodes, a 40% increase from March though still a... For the past three years, Spotify has been trying to beef up its video podcasts as it tries to...
Photo via Shutterstock
Creator Economy

Bloomberg to Publish More Audio on YouTube

By Alex Perry · Jun 27, 2023 3:18pm PDT
The term “pivot to video” has become a shorthand for the ill-fated strategic shifts undertaken by digital media companies such as Buzzfeed and Mic in the middle of the past decade to capitalize on Facebook’s prioritization of videos. Fast forward to 2023, and there’s a new pivot happening—this time with audio. The latest is Bloomberg, the... The term “pivot to video” has become a shorthand for the ill-fated strategic shifts undertaken by...
Inside the Hyatt Regency hotel. Photo by Erin Woo.
Creator Economy

A Tale of Two VidCons

By Erin Woo · Jun 26, 2023 2:52pm PDT
I’m back in San Francisco and still recovering from last week’s VidCon. (Coffee, Emma Chamberlain-branded or not, sounds extremely compelling right about now.)By the numbers, VidCon was a success. Yesterday, VidCon announced that 55,000 people attended this year’s conference, up 10% from 2022 but still lower than pre-pandemic records.... I’m back in San Francisco and still recovering from last week’s VidCon. (Coffee, Emma...
Photo via VidCon
A TikTok Shake-Up Amid Vidcon Frenzy
By Erin Woo · Jun 22, 2023 4:25pm PDT
Photo via VidCon
Creator Economy

A TikTok Shake-Up Amid Vidcon Frenzy

By Erin Woo · Jun 22, 2023 4:25pm PDT
It’s Erin Woo, reporting from VidCon in Anaheim, Calif.The convention, which kicked off Wednesday night, has drawn thousands of social media creators, industry executives and fans this year. YouTube is back sponsoring the conference which it has done every year there’s been a VidCon except last year, when TikTok took over as main sponsor. Amjad... It’s Erin Woo, reporting from VidCon in Anaheim, Calif.The convention, which kicked off Wednesday...