FTC Rules - and Kidwashing Too

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This Week: Creators beware, the FTC just added an important rule about subscriptions – plus walking dead Triller, SE Asia and Meta’s too-little too-late efforts to protect kids. I also invent the term “kidwashing” - think greenwashing, but for PR-motivated moves to protect kids - and read to the end for a look at a surprising variant of F1 fandom.

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RULES TIGHTENED ON SUBSCRIPTIONS AND RECURRING PAYMENTS.

The FTC just enacted rules to make it simple for consumers to cancel recurring subscriptions , along with providing more details for “negative option” plans. Big implications for cable TV companies and shady app vendors, but important for creators too. As SAAS, subs, and other recurring revenue streams gain importance for creators, they will need to ensure compliance with the new rules. Those rules go into effect in six months - but some may be active before the end of the year. On the flipside, this will help creators who sign up for products and then can’t figure out how to cancel.

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META FACES LAWSUITS OVER HARMING KIDS

Last week it was TikTok, now this week Meta sits on the hotseat. A judge in California refused to throw out a case brought by more than 30 states focused on whether they harmed kids via addictive algorithms . It’s become a pandemic. Two of the three biggest video platforms are under fire for addicting kids and teens to their platform, while Snap and YouTube face lawsuits from parents claiming they led their kids to harm. The platforms reacted with typical platitudes, but we’re past the point of ignoring the smoke. A blaze is burning and there will be an accounting – and hopefully a quenching.

• Related: This feels like too little too late, but Meta finally clamps down on teen sextortion . Sounds like “kidwashing” to me

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DEAD APP WALKING

Just in time for Halloween, long-suffering Triller finally went public last Wednesday . The beleaguered short form social app debuted at less than 10% of what it promised just a few years ago – and then promptly dropped by nearly a third in just two days. I’m not an investment professional, but I wouldn’t touch this deal for all the skibidis in Walmart.

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INDONESIA IS EN FUEGO

I couldn’t find the actual report, but a recent GroupM study found that Indonesia has 12 million creators producing up to a million pieces of content a month (which doesn’t really add up – many of those 12 million can’t be overly active). Indonesia is also seeing a rise in nano and micro creators, and they expect Shoppertainment to be a $1.1 trillion business in SE Asia in 2025 – which dwarfs today’s entire creator economy. I can’t wait to talk about this with the leaders of the creator networks and influencer marketing agencies in SE Asia at One Billion Followers Summit in Dubai in January! (ht Ankur Mehra )

• Related: GroupM and GOAT just picked the top 100 “digital stars” in India , another super-exciting global creator hotbed. Snap and BCG also just released an eye-opening look at GenZ in India as well

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YOUTUBE’S PRODUCTAPALOOZA

As part of its annual mega release , YouTube announced more than two dozen new features rolling out across its products. Top creator focused updates including badges for fans, and faster access to watching videos. Users also get some highly requested goodies, from fine-tuning playback speed, landscape browsing on mobile (which they probably won’t call Go90), a new mini-player and a sleep timer to pause playback. Playlists get significant updates too, with expanded collaboration, custom thumbnails and voting. I’m less than excited about the new design tweaks, as many of YouTube’s recent design efforts have been less than inspired. Still, expect a fresher TV interface with new ways to interact with Shorts and shopping too. Nothing revolutionary, but on balance these new featurettes should make the experience slightly better for everyone.

KAJABI WANTS TO BE YOUR CREATOR SUPERMARKET

With a rebrand and the announcement of new tools, Kajabi is making a play to become a one-stop shop for off-platform creator monetization. New tools include paid and free downloads, a newsletter feature and invoicing , along with a whizzy new look and feel. Along with the glow-up , the company repackaged some of its older research to amplify just how little TikTok pays creators – along with how almost half of monetizing creators make $10k or less a year. Congrats to Kajabi for the rebrand and continuing to be a positive force for creators and the creator economy. I hope they build out that “click to cancel” next.

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SPONSOR - Whalar Group is acquiring UK Talent Management company Sixteenth. This strategic partnership merges the expertise of both Sixteenth and Whalar Talent, combining forces under the name Sixteenth to establish one of the leading global 360° Creator talent management companies. This is more than an acquisition—it's a transformative shift in how Creator careers are built, managed, and scaled. Check it out here: https://variety.com/2024/biz/global/whalar-group-management-acquires-sixteenth-1236173220/

• My take: We covered this last week, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get about where Whalar Group is going. This is a bellwether move that shows where talent, representation and influence are headed. Congrats!

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QUIBIS:

YOUTUBE

• The Eye of the Beholder: Great research from YouTube trying to discover what we mean by “content quality” today. TLDR, it includes technical and emotional substance, but human connection and relatability rise to the top as well. Plus (no surprise), YouTube is now on par with tradTV. Download the full report here .
• Stop the Slop! YouTube aims to cut down on the AI crap flooding its platform by enabling new labels identifying video “captured by a camera”. Might take a while for the camera hardware to catch up though.
• Boys Club: Why are there so few women at the top of YouTube ?

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META

• You Fired: More layoffs at Meta’s Instagram and Whatsapp divisions.
• The Painted Ponies Go Up and Down: Instagram makes Carousels eligible for the Reels tab .
• Card Stock: Instagram rolls out profile cards – a sort of calling card for creators . Someone needs to do an anime adventure toon featuring Mosseri’s cartoon profile picture.

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TIKTOK

• Go Ahead, Make My Day: Props to TikTok for partnering with HackerOne and building a robust bug bounty system .
• Shop ‘Till You Drop: Micro-influencers are making bank with TikTok Shopping . Great to see!
• Making Donuts: Interesting post and infog on how the TikTok algorithm works .

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OTHER CREATOR ECONOMY

• Crash and Burn: Short selling research firm Hindenburg releases a scathing Roblox report. Good analysis of the turmoil here .
• Coinkydink? Roblox announces a new teen advisory board to help with digital well-being . More kidwashing?
• Got RevShare? LinkedIn announces a few updates, including an expansion of “Wire” video ads , ads in live events and more. With ads coming to video, will revshare for creators like me – who do video and text – be next? Alternately, could I become a “trusted partner” and sell my own ads?
• More Drops in Shopping: Latest mega deal illustrates the fading luxury ecommerce market . Another sign of the ascendence of TikTok, Temu, LTK and Shein, along with changing consumer preferences. Time to embrace creators and owned storefronts like those from Motom (disclosure, I’m an advisor).
• Workplace Woes: Beast Games mishaps shine a spotlight on other YouTuber productions too.
• I’ll Have What He’s Having: Jeff Jarvis explores internet/technology/social addiction, concluding it’s no worse than swimming, eating or having sex .
• Whodathunk It: KidTV producers complain that their biggest competitors are actual kids .
• Whodathunk It V2: No one wants your TV shows, says top TV expert, as AI is poised to slaughter the rules that YouTube already broke. The answer? Better become a creator quick!
• Rolling Back Privacy Features: Twitter eliminates “block” feature , changes terms of service – users decamp to Bluesky and elsewhere.
• Inevitable: Now there’s a webtoon featuring the Duolingo Owl mascot .
• Crazy Streamers: An essay on why live-streamers become crackpots . Garbage Day covered stinky streamers last week too. A trend?

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CREATOR TECH – AI, WEB3, VR, MORE

• Birth of a Nation Doug Shapiro sees AI video as a new medium , not just a cowpath to the old (aka skeuomorphism). More examples of how AI will democratize creativity, like the internet democratized distribution
• Step Aside Doug the Pug: Casio’s new mash-up between a Pokemon and a Tribble will ship in two weeks for $400 (Japan only). I can’t wait for maker-creators to experiment with this! (BTW, this is the second week in the row I’ve led a story with Doug the Pug. I might be in a rut).
• #RedboxTok? Abandoned Redbox DVD kiosks are piling up at retailers around the US. Now their code has been dumped online and makers are turning them into DOOM kiosks and more . Can’t wait to see the results at Open Sauce in July ! Also Redbox was a privacy nightmare .
• Can You Digg It? Kevin Rose reminisces about Digg’s launch 20 years ago and ponders an AI rebirth for the seminal site today. But if AI ran everything, what would that mean for MrBabyMan ?
• The Old Gun in the Crutch Trick: Researchers figured out how to make sound (and other waves) only travel in one direction . The “Cone of Silence” might actually be real someday!
• AI Video Scraper: Clever hack uses AI and video screen capture to grab disparate data and format it into a spreadsheet. Would work for all sorts of web sites and videos too.
• Responsible AI? Adobe’s new Firefly video generator tops the 100+ product announcements from the company’s annual creativity conference.
• Related: You should subscribe to Adobe CSO Scott Belsky’s monthly newsletter (it just dropped). Always insightful.
• There Oughta Be a Law: MKBHD calls out scumbag company that cloned his voice for its advertising.
• Vision Quest: Anthropic CEO tries to out-pundit Sam Altman with a rosy look at the future of AI , and calls for an industry think tank.

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RESEARCH

• Not Surprising: Who’s doing the best job blocking harmful election disinformation according to a new study? Hint, it’s not TikTok .
• AI Marketing: New study finds that most marketers are using generative AI – and they plan on doing more with it too. Ideating, drafting and editing top the list.

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INSIDE THE FORMULA ONE FANDOM

-- Morgan Ward

Formula One (F1) racing has been around since 1950, but an extremely passionate female fanbase has recently given it new life. Much like the love for boy bands – where young women can live in the “kingdom of the girl” -- F1 fandom merges the ideal of attractive male competence and niche subculture. Fans get deeply invested in relationships: between the drivers on each team, the drivers and their pets, and the drivers and their cars. This unique fandom simultaneously leans into fictionalizing relationships between drivers and speculating on the road-worthiness of their tires. Connecting to the fandom can be as easy as piggybacking on the drivers’ social accounts – or as expensive as sponsoring a team. If you’re considering the latter, there are developmental female teams that need recognition! Support women!

Go Deeper

• YouTuber Swell Entertainment has covered F1 on her channel frequently. You can find the playlist of all of her videos, here . She also livestreams the races on Twitch every Saturday.
• Follow World Champion (and F1 GOAT) Lewis Hamilton on Instagram for updates and his fashion sense. Also, his dog Roscoe is on Instagram too.
• The team Kick Sabeur’s TikTok is full of fun videos.
• Driver Fernando Alonso is very funny on TikTok .
• For examples of how fans lean in, give these accounts a follow: @LEWSTRI , @leclercsletters, @gaslycentral , @from.jev , @carsleclerc , and @januarystxrs .
• Special thanks to my friend Emily (@stardustem on TikTok and @_stardustem on Twitter) who helped me immeasurably with this research.

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100% written by me (and Morgan) – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!).

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