TikTok and YouTube Pull Back the Curtain While Facebook Changes Its Name

The United States of YouTube: Have you ever been to Omaha, Nebraska? According to a new study, there are more people in the US who work full time as creators in the YouTube economy than there are people who live in Omaha. The overall “value” of this economy to the US is more than $20 billion. Those are just a few data points from YouTube’s recent study on their economic impact on the US. Overall, the numbers are impressive: over 38k channels in the US have more than 100k subs, and over 5k have over a million. You can read much more about “creative entrepreneurs” in the full study. Also don’t miss the IAB’s latest report showing that the “internet economy” has created over seven million jobs in the last four years –– one for every man, woman, and child in Massachusetts.

TikTok’s List of Notable New Creators: Things move so fast on TikTok, it’s hard to stay current with emerging creators. Now TikTok itself is here to help. Creator community lead Kudzi Chikumbu — one of the good guys in the industry — worked with his team to share their favorite game-changing creators in the first “Discover List.” It’s so good; I want seconds. And thirds!

Value Is Created at the Intersection of Non-Consensus: This insightful conversation between Warner CEO Jason Kilar and Greylock's David Sze is an amazing read (or listen, as it's also a podcast). Kilar talks about the practice of leaning into disruption, the throughlines from his early days at Amazon to starting Hulu and now rebuilding Warner, and the future of media, entertainment, streaming, and creators. Sze is one of the most brilliant VCs of our time and is perfectly matched to extract the most from Kilar. Jump to the last ten minutes of the podcast for the creator economy meat, but I encourage you to read or listen to all of it.

I’m Shocked — Shocked to Find That Acting Is Going on in Here! There’s a lot of sturm und drang about fictional creators masquerading as real on TikTok. It’s nothing new, as lonelygirl15 and many others over the years brought fictional creators into online video formats. It’s not even the first time this has happened on TikTok –– check out The Rich Girl, for example. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that a significant percentage of your favorite Instagramers, YouTubers, and TikTokers aren’t REALLY who they claim to be on their channels. I’m also convinced that nearly everyone in LA is actually playing a part. The verdict? Nothing to see here. Move on.???

Facebook Changing Its Name: By now you’ve probably heard that Facebook is changing its name to reflect the new metaverse focus. But the problem with announcing the change before announcing the name means we all get to speculate. Here are some of our suggestions: Faceverse, Faceplace, Metabook, Deliverator, Bookface, Facepalm, Facey McFaceWorld, Facespace. Plus, does this mean FB is entering the witness protection program? Because its own internal Transparency Board is not happy, according to its latest report.

QUIBIS:?

• Axie Infinity: not really creators, but it is an economy –– and now it’s bigger than Candy Crush.?Rex Woodbury weighs in.
• Congrats to Li Jin, who combined her passion economy fund with Variant’s ownership economy version with a new $110M fund.
• Addison Rae apparently needs a day job.
• Results from Colin and Samir’s Shorts test.
• One year after its launch, YouTube shares the past, present, and future of Shorts.
• Roblox has an inappropriate content problem.
• Twitter might start sharing revenue with creators.
• Loving the new Google for Creators site, which helps creators build O&O websites.
• Bretman Rock teams with Curology on a new skincare line.
• Here are the top 25 brands sponsoring Instagram posts in September.
• Pex insures platforms for $50M against DMCA or EUCD copyright violations.
• Triller is hosting a monthly assembly for Black creators.
• TikTok dancer Jalaiah Harmon’s new documentary shows how her life has changed since her dance, the Renegade, went viral.

This Week at VidCon Now:

• TUESDAY VIDTALK: Cassie Roma sits down with expert career guide Vanessa McGowan to talk about building a career around passion, creativity, and community –– and, beyond that, how to take that leap of faith to get started! Watch it live at 11 AM (PT) at live.vidcon.com.
• TUESDAY WORKSHOP: Want to start a podcast, but haven’t found your voice? Join CelinaSpookyBoo as she spills the secrets on what it takes to build a successful and authentic podcast. Watch it live at 3 PM (PT) at live.vidcon.com.
• THURSDAY SUPER Q&A: Kelsi Davies is a multi-talented singer, social media influencer, dancer, and actress. She’s stopping by VidCon to talk to YOU in our interactive Q&A, so make sure to come with all of your urgent questions! Watch it live at 3 PM (PT) here.
• FRIDAY SPOOKTACULAR: Step away from work and focus on what’s really important this month… HALLOWEEN! Tune in to Emma Norton’s session about her Halloween festivities, how to make the most out of your Halloween celebration, and unique costume and makeup ideas for 2021. Watch it live at 10 AM (PT) at live.vidcon.com.

VIDCON ABU DHABI is coming: We've got an amazing program in Abu Dhabi from the 3rd to the 6th of November, and it's in person in one of the safest countries in the world. Our industry track lineup is as good as its ever been, with deep insight on platforms, crypto, web3 and globalization. Come join me and the industry there in December!

Tip of The Week: This week’s tip comes from Mahesh Vellanki, Co-founder at Rally!

Being a creator is really hard. The best way to understand the space and work in the industry is to constantly talk to them directly. The term “creators” is inherently broad –– every platform, category, and niche is different. It's incredibly important these days to allocate a lot of time to understanding and empathizing with creators and the problems that they face on the frontlines.

What We’re Watching:

• Is today a “no bones” morning??
• TikTok user @kogumipip creates strange stop-motion videos with tiny pigs.
• Did you catch Kim Kardashian West on SNL?

See you around the internet (and in Singapore and Abu Dhabi), and feel free to share this with anyone you think might be interested, and if someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up?on our website at?VidCon.com?— scroll down and select “VidCon Weekly Industry Highlights."

Jim