Vidya Narayanan discusses the future of video creation, and it's about to get innovative

"Today, the possible creation experiences that we can bring with AI and machine learning on phones to inspire millions of creators are limitless — we’re just scratching the surface on this front!" In You've Got This this week, Vidya Narayanan outlines what inspired her to co-found video platform?Rizzle , where she sees community interacting with content creation, and her advice and guidance for those looking to become creators and entrepreneurs. Enjoy her answers below, along with announcing our next guest, Founder and CEO of Smart Cups Chris Kanik .

Victoria: "What inspired you to launch Rizzle, and what excited you about the idea of bringing this type of video experience to life?"

Vidya: "I most recently came from Google where I led engineering teams working on user behavior and context at Android. Before that, I was at Qualcomm and Motorola—essentially, I’ve been working on mobile all along. My motivation to get on this journey came from the desire to experience what it is like to get those first 100 users, the first 1000, and so on. Launching products at Google meant we put features in the hands of hundreds of millions of users overnight. While that has its own fun and challenges, I really wanted to experience the other side. That’s what drove me to entrepreneurship in the consumer space.?

?The specific idea for my company?was born from the observation that video platforms have historically been a broadcast medium, not a truly interactive experience at scale. We set out to scale video discussions to hundreds of thousands of people - that was the fundamental premise. We launched Rizzle with video responses and prompts that allowed hundreds and thousands of people to debate and discuss topics over video. It was a one-of-a-kind platform that led to tight-knit video communities where creators cherished these discussions and built friends. Our earliest creators are still on the platform till this day due to this community experience.?

Today we're a large platform with many features allowing people to create multiple genres of content, including features like?Rimix ?and?Filmi ?that bring the next big thing in short video music content. Rizzle’s latest feature, Titan, brings advancements in real-time processing of AI and machine learning models for body extraction on the phones, leading to endless possibilities in creation of video memes and other content."?

Victoria: "How do you see community intersecting with content creation, and what are some of the trends you're most excited about in the space?"

Vidya: "In recent years, user generated content (UGC) has increased massively in scale, made possible by platforms that have brought easy and powerful creation tools to the phones. Today, UGC often means that it is created on the platform itself. While it is not always true, it is getting closer to that.? Platforms like YouTube enjoyed the privilege of having UGC without offering any creation tools. Today’s platforms cannot get away with that. In some ways, today, the quality and quantity of UGC are directly proportional to the creation tools that the platform offers.

"Social networks were all about community in the early days, but today, what constitutes a social network and what constitutes a UGC content platform is debatable. The right type of creation and community experiences must come together for a successful social platform today."?

I’m excited about the possibilities that are still wide open in this area. Rizzle’s video responses bring a strong community to people and this was very important for our early creators.? Today, the possible creation experiences that we can bring with AI and machine learning to inspire millions of creators are limitless—we’re just scratching the surface on this front! We’re working to bring experiences that can enable creating an entire series just using your phone and that’s extremely exciting—it will change filmmaking as we know it in profound ways."

Victoria: "What advice would you have for those looking to become professional creators and entrepreneurs?"

Vidya: "The creator economy is real and here to stay. We recognized this very early in our life cycle and incorporated fan sponsorships directly into the platform.? It is also easier than ever to create content—you don’t need a professional camera and be proficient in complex editing tools to be a creator.?

?That said, the best content is almost always a performance. The best content is almost always planned, at least a little. Many times, the creator has done multiple takes on a video to get it right. So, it’s not easy to be a great creator—the good news though, is that previously, to be a great creator on YouTube, you needed to be great at seven things at once - from professional editing to thumbnail creation to SEO to marketing your channel, there were many things you needed to be good at.

"Today, you can focus on your creativity and making the best content and leave the rest to the platform."

Today’s video platforms are self-contained - they have the creation tools, they distribute your content in a way that it finds its best audience, and on platforms like Rizzle, you can also monetize.? When it comes to creators becoming entrepreneurs and making an entire living from content creation, we are in a great position with multiple platforms emerging to help monetization, but it is still a competitive game. A few cold hard facts impact the creator economy in various ways:?

• The long tail in content is very long - 80% of YouTube videos get less than 1K views.?
• There simply isn’t enough combined watch time to watch all the content being made.?
• Most people want to watch the best of content in the time they have.?

We need to be cognizant of these facts when we make assumptions about the creator economy and how quickly it can grow. I’m cautiously optimistic about the future in this area."

Follow Vidya on LinkedIn.

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Next week's guest: Chris Kanik

I'm looking forward to our next guest, Chris Kanik . As the CEO and Founder of Smart Cups , Chris has created a sustainability-driven technology company whose inaugural product is the first "Printed Beverage." Utilizing a patented delivery system technology that allows flavors and active materials to be printed on substrate surfaces, these cups reduce storage and transportation needs helping to make a more eco-friendly product. With that in mind, here's what I'll be asking Chris:

• Can you tell us about how you approach innovation and entrepreneurship???
• Where do you see the future of?printing as a way to increase accessibility and sustainability across categories and products?
• What would your advice be for other founders or those looking to pursue 'their own thing?'

Have your own questions for Chris? Ask them below in the comments, and thank you as always for reading and being a part of You've Got This.