A Handy Follower/Sub Value Calculator, TikTok and War, and Fundamental Problems at Twitch

Here’s what’s new and what caught my eye this week:

TikTok vs. YouTube vs. Instagram Values: Karat has been using relative sub values to determine how much credit to give to its customers. Now the company has made its algorithm available to anyone with a handy free calculator. Want to know how valuable your YouTube audience is? How about relative to your TikTok followers? What happens if you add another 100,000 followers on Instagram? This calculator has it all (apart from LinkedIn). I analyzed relative and absolute values of follower/sub at the 100k level and discovered that Instagram tops at about $0.77 a follower, followed closely by Twitter. TikTok came in last at about seven cents. I then sorted based on how many followers/subs you’d need to equal a single Instagram follower –– and found that you’d need more than four subs on YouTube to equal one on Instagram and 11 on TikTok for the same. The calculator also looks at Patreon, OnlyFans, and Substack, but I didn’t include those. Here’s my analysis –– YMMV:?

The Fog of War: TikTok’s having a moment in Ukraine, but it’s a confusing one. The New Yorker and the Guardian called it “the TikTok War”, sharing how Double-T is changing how we perceive wars. But Rebecca Jennings of Vox explains that there are a lot of misleading posts as well, amplifying misinformation and more. Wired agrees, sharing how the algorithm reveals the messiness of war, along with an inability to sort out the truth. I can just imagine the soul-searching and algo-tweaking going on inside TikTok as it confronts a #trend it neither asked for nor curated. My take: true heroic creators will emerge from this tragedy, and they will reshape our view of armed conflict. I just wish it were easier, right now, to find and support them. Until then, I’ll keep watching @matthewcassel and @xenasolo on TikTok.

Last Minute TikTok NEWS: TikTok bans new videos from Russia and provides insight into how they plan to deal with misinformation and state-controlled media.

Four Out of Five Ain’t Bad: LinkedIn Product Chief Tomer Cohen shared five product category updates, most of which were requested by users. My favorites include more content analytics, more powerful tools to manage your community, and enhanced messaging. And, like every other platform, NFTs seem to be coming soon, too. Perhaps this means a return to actual stock certificates? Buy an NFT and get a share in Tesla FOR FREE! Guess they can’t all be home runs.

?QUIBIS:?

• TikTok videos lengthen to 10 minutes –– but will it turn into YouTube?
• Maybe Minecraft is the only metaverse we all really need.
• Good read about the place for social platforms during wartime, with lots of links at the bottom.
• Strategic discord at Twitch.
• Lightricks adds the D’Amelios as investors and launches a new 24/7 creator-first content site, which oddly comes out only once a month.
• Instagram rolls out auto-captions.
• Text-chat — AKA comments — comes to Clubhouse.
• Attorneys general from eight states open an investigation into TikTok and kids. (Fun fact, I’ve lived in four of them.)
• YouTube changes where creators get paid in app and improves comment warnings.
• Who wins the micro vs. macro creator debate (spoiler, it’s complicated)?
• Kids say no to Facebook on Campus.
• As we all start to go back to the office, here are some thoughts on whether the Metaverse will be next.

This Week at VidCon Now: Happy Women’s History Month! Check out “From 0 to 200M Subscribers on YouTube – Story of 2 Dianas,” from AIR Media Tech’s Head of Global Business Development Vira Slyvinska –– a session from VidCon Abu Dhabi. Make sure to subscribe to our VidCon Pro channel too!?

Tip of the Week: This week’s tip comes from Josh Zimmerman, Founder & CEO of Creator Coach:

In order to grow your brand and IP through video, no matter what side of the industry you are on, you have to know your “why”. Why are you creating this content? Why should your viewers care? Why is this content evoking a certain type of emotion? If you can answer the above, and other "why"?questions, you will be well on your way to growing a strong audience who resonates with your content.

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What We’re Watching:?

• This guy makes INSANE chocolate sculptures.
• The Duolingo owl — a mascot that made headlines last year for going viral on TikTok — went to the Dua Lipa concert in New York. Antics ensued. Plus, you'll hear from the expert behind the Duolingo owl at this year's VidCon in Anaheim.
• Uncut Gems actress Julia Fox unintentionally spurred the latest TikTok trend when she said the words “uncah jams” in a podcast episode of Call Her Daddy. The sound went viral on TikTok, and users (including Cara Delevigne and Shay Mitchell) made fun of her pronunciation by lip-syncing to the viral video clip.
• Newly announced Featured Creators Kirsten and Erika Titus tried every Costco Asian food! Check it out on YouTube.

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Jim