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Dorsey founder Meg Strachan. Photos via Dorsey.
Creator Economy

Can Substack Be the New Instagram?

By Ann Gehan · Feb 25, 2025 2:00pm PST
Meg Strachan, founder of lab-grown jewelry line Dorsey, knows firsthand the power of creator marketing. But these days, she’s not as interested in yet another partnership with an Instagram or TikTok creator to promote the brand: Instead, Strachan is branching out by teaming up with creators on newer platforms including Substack. Meg Strachan, founder of lab-grown jewelry line Dorsey, knows firsthand the power of creator...
Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

Facebook Tries to Get Creators’ Attention

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 20, 2025 2:02pm PST
Facebook wants to be cool again—and it plans to revamp itself in large part by leveraging creators, as my colleague Sylvia and I detailed in a story on Thursday. Facebook staffers have been talking to the teams of prominent YouTubers including MrBeast and former NASA engineer Mark Rober to get their feedback on how to make the app better... Facebook wants to be cool again—and it plans to revamp itself in large part by leveraging...
Image via Getty.
Creator Economy

Not Every Podcaster Is Ready for Video

By Kaya Yurieff and Catherine Perloff · Feb 19, 2025 3:05pm PST
Long gone are the days when podcasting just meant audio episodes. Spotify and others have been pushing podcasters to post video versions of their shows, which can open up new types of advertising such as product placement and give podcasters video clips that can expand their reach. But some podcasters are skeptical that the video effort will pay... Long gone are the days when podcasting just meant audio episodes. Spotify and others have been...
How TikTok Is Faring One Month After Shutdown
How TikTok Is Faring One Month After Shutdown
By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 18, 2025 2:24pm PST
How TikTok Is Faring One Month After Shutdown
Creator Economy

How TikTok Is Faring One Month After Shutdown

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 18, 2025 2:24pm PST
It’s been one month since TikTok briefly went offline in the U.S., and internal company comments and external data offer a picture of how the situation has impacted the short-form video app’s business. By some accounts, TikTok is doing pretty well. It’s been one month since TikTok briefly went offline in the U.S., and internal company comments...
Photo via Getty.
Creator Economy

Creator Economy: TikTok Employees Have Something Else to Fret About

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Feb 13, 2025 2:25pm PST
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had some good news for employees at the company’s all-hands meeting Wednesday night—and then some less than stellar news.While its short-lived shutdown in the U.S. nearly a month ago hurt the business, the app has seen “positive momentum” since then, Chew said, adding: “100% of our ad campaigns that were paused as a... TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had some good news for employees at the company’s all-hands meeting...
Still from Poppi's 2025 Super Bowl commercial. Screenshot via YouTube.
Creator Economy

Why Poppi’s Super Bowl Creator Campaign Backfired

By Ann Gehan · Feb 12, 2025 2:45pm PST
Since its launch in 2020, soda startup Poppi has used social media and viral trends to spread the word about its low calorie sodas. It’s also made attention-grabbing partnerships with creators a big piece of its strategy. The brand hosted influencer Alix Earle in a Poppi-themed house at Coachella last year to promote the launch of its lemon lime... Since its launch in 2020, soda startup Poppi has used social media and viral trends to spread the...
Photo via Adobe
Creator Economy

The Aftermath of India’s TikTok Ban Holds Lessons for the U.S.

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 11, 2025 2:05pm PST
TikTok now has 53 days to figure out a deal to keep it alive in the U.S.—otherwise it will have to go dark again under a law passed last year. While President Donald Trump delayed enforcement of that law until early April and has signaled he wants to find a way for TikTok to stay in the U.S., it’s worth looking at what happened to the video app’... TikTok now has 53 days to figure out a deal to keep it alive in the U.S.—otherwise it will have...
ByteDance's Shanghai office. Photo via Getty.
Why ByteDance Could Afford to Shut Down TikTok’s U.S. Business
By Sri Muppidi and Juro Osawa · Feb 6, 2025 2:48pm PST · 1 comment
ByteDance's Shanghai office. Photo via Getty.
Creator Economy

Why ByteDance Could Afford to Shut Down TikTok’s U.S. Business

By Sri Muppidi and Juro Osawa · Feb 6, 2025 2:48pm PST · 1 comment
How painful would it be for ByteDance to shut down TikTok in the U.S. altogether? Such a question may be moot if you only listened to President Donald Trump, who has frequently weighed in on the likelihood of a deal to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations—perhaps to Oracle, maybe to Elon Musk, or even to the U.S. government itself! But as we’ve... How painful would it be for ByteDance to shut down TikTok in the U.S. altogether? Such a question...
President Donald Trump. Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

Why Trump’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Plan for TikTok Won’t Work

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 5, 2025 2:36pm PST
President Trump’s plan to set up a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, which he said could play a role in buying TikTok’s U.S. business, is generating a lot of conversation this week. But here’s why it’s unlikely to work out. First of all, it’s unclear where the money to seed such a fund would come from. Sovereign wealth funds are common in... President Trump’s plan to set up a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, which he said could play a role in...
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. Photo via Flickr/Fortune.
Creator Economy

YouTube’s Election Boost; Spiegel Goes Public on Snapchat

By Kaya Yurieff · Feb 4, 2025 3:50pm PST
We’re hearing a lot of YouTube creators and media executives have already descended on New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl Sunday. Back at home in rainy Mountain View, Google leaders have been talking up the last national event that boosted YouTube—the 2024 presidential election. In a call with investors late Tuesday, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai... We’re hearing a lot of YouTube creators and media executives have already descended on New...
Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

Why Creator Funds Are Back

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 30, 2025 2:00pm PST
As TikTok’s future remains in turmoil, competitors are trying to take advantage of the situation. One way is bringing back a tried-and-true tactic from 2021: creator funds. This month, companies including creator commerce app Flip, which competes with TikTok Shop, and newsletter publisher Substack announced programs that offer cash... As TikTok’s future remains in turmoil, competitors are trying to take advantage of the situation....
Photo via Getty
Zuckerberg Wants to Make Facebook Cool Again
By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 29, 2025 3:51pm PST
Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

Zuckerberg Wants to Make Facebook Cool Again

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 29, 2025 3:51pm PST
Meta Platforms is still enthusiastic about creators. That much was clear from the Instagram parent’s earnings call on Wednesday.Chief financial officer Susan Li said “creators are one of our central focuses,” while CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he’s focused on growing Facebook’s cultural influence. He didn’t elaborate, but it seems likely that Meta... Meta Platforms is still enthusiastic about creators. That much was clear from the Instagram...
Ghost Agency cofounders Nicole Rechtszaid and Jenny Woo.
Creator Economy

Why One Founder Is Giving Up On TikTok

By Ann Gehan · Jan 28, 2025 2:00pm PST
TikTok’s roughly 12-hour shutdown earlier this month, however brief, was a reality check for businesses built around the app. Before that, many brands and creators that sell goods on TikTok’s shopping service, TikTok Shop, had been kicking the can down the road on what to do if the app disappeared. Nicole Rechtszaid, the founder of Ghost... TikTok’s roughly 12-hour shutdown earlier this month, however brief, was a reality check for...
Chart by Shane Burke
Creator Economy

U.S. TikTok Employees Flee to Meta, Google

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 23, 2025 2:00pm PST · 2 comments
As uncertainty around TikTok’s future has built for months, some U.S.-based employees at the short-form video app have left for other companies. Nearly one in ten of those departures have been to Meta Platforms, the parent of Instagram and Facebook, according to a new analysis from Live Data Technologies, which tracks personnel movements... As uncertainty around TikTok’s future has built for months, some U.S.-based employees at the...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Creator Economy

Let’s Make a Deal—for TikTok

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 22, 2025 3:00pm PST
It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours of headlines pointing to a possible deal for TikTok, which could save it permanently from a U.S. ban. The big question is whether any of these overtures will pass muster with China’s government, which will likely have the final word on a sale. It’s not clear that TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance is even... It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours of headlines pointing to a possible deal for TikTok, which could...
Photo by Getty
Instagram Goes After TikTokers; TikTok’s MAGA Moment
By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 21, 2025 2:16pm PST
Photo by Getty
Creator Economy

Instagram Goes After TikTokers; TikTok’s MAGA Moment

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 21, 2025 2:16pm PST
Well, a lot has happened since we last sent out this newsletter! Although TikTok is back online for existing U.S. users, its future is far from certain. We’ll be watching to see if the Google and Apple app stores decide to reinstate the video app—and how Trump’s executive order that promises he won’t enforce the ban-or-divest law for 75 days... Well, a lot has happened since we last sent out this newsletter! Although TikTok is back online...
Photo by Getty
Creator Economy

What Could Happen Next With TikTok

By Kaya Yurieff and Catherine Perloff · Jan 16, 2025 2:15pm PST
It’s crunch time for TikTok, and my phone is blowing up with panicked messages from creators, their managers, agencies and ordinary users about what will happen. It’s crunch time for TikTok, and my phone is blowing up with panicked messages from creators,...
TikTok Plans To Go Dark; U.S. Creator Startup Funding Bounces Back
Creator Economy

TikTok Plans To Go Dark; U.S. Creator Startup Funding Bounces Back

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 15, 2025 2:00pm PST
Before we get to the rest of today’s newsletter, we have the latest update on TikTok. On Tuesday night, my colleague Sylvia and I reported TikTok’s plans to shut off its app for U.S. users on Sunday, the day a U.S. law will ban the app, unless the Supreme Court intervenes.That news is causing quite a stir among creators, their managers and users... Before we get to the rest of today’s newsletter, we have the latest update on TikTok. On Tuesday...
In the face of a potential ban, TikTok users are joining another Chinese-owned social app, RedNote or Xiaohongshu in Chinese. Image by Getty
Creator Economy

As TikTok Ban Looms, Competitors Are Circling

By Kaya Yurieff and Juro Osawa · Jan 14, 2025 2:00pm PST
As we near Sunday’s effective date of a U.S. law that could ban TikTok, a growing number of U.S. TikTok users are joining another Chinese-owned social app: RedNote. The app, known as Xiaohongshu in Chinese, is similar to Instagram. The movement has helped turn RedNote into one of the most downloaded apps in the U.S. almost overnight. Some... As we near Sunday’s effective date of a U.S. law that could ban TikTok, a growing number of U.S....
Photo via Getty
TikTok’s Vibe as It Heads to Supreme Court
By Kaya Yurieff and Wayne Ma · Jan 9, 2025 2:30pm PST
Photo via Getty
Creator Economy

TikTok’s Vibe as It Heads to Supreme Court

By Kaya Yurieff and Wayne Ma · Jan 9, 2025 2:30pm PST
I’m in Washington D.C. ahead of oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Friday morning, where TikTok will argue against a U.S. law that could ban the app in 10 days if it doesn’t sever ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance.  Despite this threat, TikTok is pushing forward as normal—so much so that this week at the major tech conference... I’m in Washington D.C. ahead of oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Friday morning, where...