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Creator Economy
Venture Capital
Startups
Pearpop, a Startup That Enables Creator ‘Collabs,’ Inked Financing Before Downturn
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 17, 2022 4:38 PM PDT
Pearpop, a nearly two-year-old startup whose technology facilitates collaborations between influencers, raised an undisclosed amount of funding in March through a simple agreement for future equity, or SAFE, a person familiar with the company told The Information. Investors in the March round included music management company Red Light...
Pearpop, a nearly two-year-old startup whose technology facilitates collaborations between...
Creator Economy
TikTok for Food Tests Tipping; Meta Takes Horizon Worlds to Europe
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 16, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
Instagram isn’t the only social platform that wants to look more like TikTok. A new app called Mixo provides the same quick scroll through lots of vertically-oriented videos, but—twist!—provides exclusively cooking and food-related content. When its co-founder and CEO Shirley Romig, 45, launched the New York City-based company in June, she...
Instagram isn’t the only social platform that wants to look more like TikTok. A new app called ...
Creator Economy
How Instagram Is Getting Teens to Share More; Snap Expands Subs
By
Kaya Yurieff
· Aug. 15, 2022 3:03 PM PDT
Earlier today, we published a story about Instagram’s internal efforts to take on TikTok. Our reporting found out that tests of TikTok-like changes to Instagram—which Instagram paused after an outcry from major influencers—were part of a broader initiative that began last year to simplify the app, code name Panavision. You can read more...
Earlier today, we published a story about Instagram’s internal efforts to take on TikTok. ...
TikTok’s Ad Stumbles; an NFT Artist on Crypto Twitter, Philanthropy and Diversity
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 11, 2022 2:51 PM PDT
Creator Economy
TikTok’s Ad Stumbles; an NFT Artist on Crypto Twitter, Philanthropy and Diversity
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 11, 2022 2:51 PM PDT
TikTok aims to rival the ad revenue of digital titans such as Meta Platforms, but a new report from my colleague Sylvia shows that turbulence within the short-form video app’s ad sales department threatens to throw it off course.That turbulence includes a high-pressure culture that has resulted in heavy turnover. Since top-down instruction still...
TikTok aims to rival the ad revenue of digital titans such as Meta Platforms, but a new report...
Creator Economy
Startup Kangaroo Indicates Plans to Close; Roblox Rewards Creators
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 10, 2022 3:34 PM PDT
Kangaroo, a creator economy startup that had dubbed itself a “Roblox for stories,” is in the process of shutting down, its co-founder and CEO Katie Mishra has told people close to the company. It’s not clear whether the Palo Alto, Calif., startup, which raised $3.3 million in funding last year, will try to relaunch with a different product....
Kangaroo, a creator economy startup that had dubbed itself a “Roblox for stories,” is in the...
Creator Economy
How Creators Could Earn On BeReal; Layoffs At Snap And Hootsuite
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 9, 2022 4:25 PM PDT
BeReal, the viral app that uses the front and back cameras for users to capture a candid image once a day, reached 7.9 million users by the end of July, The Information’s Kate Clark and I reported on Tuesday. That’s a staggering four times as many users as the 2 million it clocked in January, according to a person familiar with the app. Based on...
BeReal, the viral app that uses the front and back cameras for users to capture a candid image...
Creator Economy
Facebook
It’s Getting Harder to Hit 1 Million Followers on TikTok (Chart)
By
Kaya Yurieff
· Aug. 8, 2022 3:30 PM PDT
The number of TikTok accounts crossing 1 million followers has been on the decline over the past year, new data shows. Last month, about 1,200 TikTok accounts hit that milestone, a 41% drop from the same time a year ago, according to data from Trendpop provided exclusively to The Information.
The number of TikTok accounts crossing 1 million followers has been on the decline over the past...
The Podcasting Feature Spotify and Apple Should Launch Next
By
Kaya Yurieff
· Aug. 4, 2022 2:15 PM PDT
Creator Economy
The Podcasting Feature Spotify and Apple Should Launch Next
By
Kaya Yurieff
· Aug. 4, 2022 2:15 PM PDT
As podcasting’s popularity grows, independent hosts have found it more challenging to break through and connect with new audiences. Efforts from Spotify and Apple, such as spotlighting favorites and offering recommendations based on interests, have helped. But the platforms could do more.Gael Aitor, the 19-year-old co-host of the mental...
As podcasting’s popularity grows, independent hosts have found it more challenging to break...
Creator Economy
Startups
Facebook
A Startup Cloning Creators; Facebook Shutters Live Shopping
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 3, 2022 3:11 PM PDT
Last month, YouTuber MrBeast joked that he had to photoshop his hair onto video thumbnails for fans to recognize his face and watch the video. That speaks to a problem faced by any creator who starts to gain a following: the amount of content they make is limited by how often they appear in a photo or video.Startup Hour One tries to solve that...
Last month, YouTuber MrBeast joked that he had to photoshop his hair onto video thumbnails for...
Creator Economy
Startups
Venture Capital
A VC Firm Started by TikTok Stars Expands; Instagram’s London Calling
By
Kaya Yurieff
· Aug. 2, 2022 2:47 PM PDT
Creators have long faced problems when other internet users steal their content or don’t give them proper credit. That’s an area where Dylann Berger Katz, who recently joined Animal Capital as a partner, sees opportunity. She’s most interested in investing in “technologies and platforms that allow creators to license out content, that way...
Creators have long faced problems when other internet users steal their content or don’t give...
Creator Economy
Pinterest CEO Ready Gives His Take on Creators; Interview With an Original Robloxer
By
Mahira Dayal
· Aug. 1, 2022 3:46 PM PDT
Pinterest joined Meta Platforms and Snap in reporting disappointing second quarter financial results on Monday. Its revenue for the quarter rose 9% to $666 million, less than the 11% it forecast, because of reduced advertising demand from large retailers and mid-sized advertisers. Its global monthly users remained flat compared to the previous...
Pinterest joined Meta Platforms and Snap in reporting disappointing second quarter financial...
Instagram Pauses Changes to Feed After Week-Long Drama
By
Mahira Dayal
· July 28, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
Creator Economy
Facebook
Instagram Pauses Changes to Feed After Week-Long Drama
By
Mahira Dayal
· July 28, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
It’s been quite the week for Instagram. On Thursday, CEO Adam Mosseri said the app will reduce the number of recommended posts in users’ feeds and pause its test of TikTok-like full-screen photos and videos, Platformer reported. This comes after days of online skirmishes with mega-influencers over the recently invoked changes. Here’s a...
It’s been quite the week for Instagram. On Thursday, CEO Adam Mosseri said the app will reduce...
Creator Economy
Startups
Facebook
Startup Accelerator Launch House’s New $10 Million Venture Fund; Instagram’s TikTok-Like Feed Draws Backlash
By
Kaya Yurieff
· July 26, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
Launch House is a startup accelerator where—twist!—founders live together. Companies it’s incubated have gone on to raise venture capital elsewhere, and now Launch House is getting in the investment game with its own $10 million venture arm. House Capital (which launched quietly in January but hasn’t been reported on until now) has made...
Launch House is a startup accelerator where—twist!—founders live together. Companies it’s...
Creator Economy
Former Musical.ly President on Where TikTok Is Going Next
By
Kaya Yurieff
· July 25, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
In the early days of Musical.ly, leadership had frequent debates about whether to base the app on social relationships or on an “interest graph,” making it entertainment-focused, said Alex Hofmann, former North America president of Musical.ly, in an interview.Hofmann, who left Musical.ly a few months after ByteDance acquired the company in late...
In the early days of Musical.ly, leadership had frequent debates about whether to base the app on...
Creator Economy
Startups
How Discord’s Revenue Per User Compares to Facebook; Snap’s Disappearing Growth
By
Mahira Dayal
· July 21, 2022 4:19 PM PDT
Discord, the messaging app commonly used by gamers, is still thriving after the peak of the pandemic shutdowns, when people were hunkered down in their homes, looking to connect over the internet. That’s according to a new report from my colleague Mark Matousek, who detailed the startup’s impressive business growth after it rejected Microsoft’s...
Discord, the messaging app commonly used by gamers, is still thriving after the peak of the...
When TikTok Will Beat Facebook in Influencer Marketing (Chart); LinkedIn’s New Tech Creator Program
By
Kaya Yurieff
· July 20, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
Creator Economy
Google
Facebook
When TikTok Will Beat Facebook in Influencer Marketing (Chart); LinkedIn’s New Tech Creator Program
By
Kaya Yurieff
· July 20, 2022 2:00 PM PDT
TikTok will surpass Meta Platforms’ Facebook when it comes to the amount of money advertisers spend on influencer marketing in the U.S. by the end of this year and will beat out YouTube by 2024, according to a new forecast from Insider Intelligence, provided exclusively to The Information. Both social networks won’t catch up to Instagram, also...
TikTok will surpass Meta Platforms’ Facebook when it comes to the amount of money advertisers...
Creator Economy
Facebook
Microsoft
Instagram Tests Map Features; Reddit Downvotes Subscriptions; Microsoft’s Social Network
By
Mahira Dayal
· July 19, 2022 3:44 PM PDT ·
1 comment
Loyal Creator Economy readers may recall a chart last year when we noted that all social networks are beginning to look the same. Today’s barrage of news shows that even companies like software maker Microsoft are adopting the most popular social features, like disappearing posts. And in yet another example of convergence, Instagram is taking a...
Loyal Creator Economy readers may recall a chart last year when we noted that all social networks...
Creator Economy
Startups
Squarespace’s Creator Ambitions; TikTok Creator Owen Holt on Why He Loves Twitter
By
Kaya Yurieff
· July 18, 2022 2:40 PM PDT
Squarespace, known for offering tools to customize and host sleek websites, has in recent years stepped up features appealing to internet performers, in addition to small businesses and individuals such as graphic designers. In late 2020, it rolled out a membership product that helps creators sell access to virtual courses, newsletters and...
Squarespace, known for offering tools to customize and host sleek websites, has in recent years...
Creator Economy
The Startup Scraping the Internet for Stolen Content; OpenSea Layoffs; LTK Inks Deal With Stripe
By
Mahira Dayal
· July 14, 2022 3:15 PM PDT
Creators frequently find that other internet users have replicated their videos, photos and text without permission. Some people see this as an inconvenience, but the stakes are higher for creators who are harassed, threatened or demeaned when others misuse their photos or videos online.Ceartas, a startup that uses algorithms to search the...
Creators frequently find that other internet users have replicated their videos, photos and text...
Amazon Live Shopping Melts in the Spotlight; Poop Emoji in Court
By
Mark Di Stefano
· July 13, 2022 3:33 PM PDT
Creator Economy
E-commerce
Amazon Live Shopping Melts in the Spotlight; Poop Emoji in Court
By
Mark Di Stefano
· July 13, 2022 3:33 PM PDT
Happy Day Two of Prime Day, the mid-year firesale of products on Amazon.com where (nearly) everything must go! I hope you were able to pick up a little smartspeaker on sale, or your annual haul of cheap underwear and socks. This year’s sales event has taken on added importance as Amazon tries to shake off its witch’s brew of problems—high...
Happy Day Two of Prime Day, the mid-year firesale of products on Amazon.com where (nearly)...
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