YouTube Priorities for 2022, 100 Future Trends, and Maybe TikTok Doesn't Suck After All

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

Genuinfluencers and Headless Brands: You’re probably sick of “2022 trend” stories, and I promised I’d swear them off until next year. But then Wunderman Thompson dropped their 100 future trends piece, and at least 13 are directly relevant to the creator economy. Liminal spaces, finite social networks, and so much more can be found inside. Plus, on the geeky side, The Generalist delivered top crypto trends sourced from 22 experts, including Li Jin and Alexis Ohanian. Grab a cuppa and set aside a few minutes to read both — you’ll find them informative AND entertaining.

Pitch Decks to Help You Raise $: I love a good pitch deck. Not only does it give you insight into a startup’s vision, but the successful ones help you craft your own investor pitch. Check out these 15 creator economy pitch decks from companies including Spore, Lumanu, Restream, and Spoon. Good luck on that seed round!

How the Heck Could Roblox Go Down for FOUR DAYS? Well, now we know. This amazingly detailed account from Roblox’s internal team details exactly what happened and how they fixed it. It reads like a cross between a detective novel and a cyberpunk treatise, with ups, downs, false trails, and the painstaking work that ultimately revealed the problem. Major props to Roblox for being transparent and taking the long view. My favorite line shared one reason why they built everything internally instead of on AWS or Azure: “These savings directly influence the amount we are able to pay to creators on the platform.” I love that attitude, and I love Roblox even more now.

Wojcicki Lays Out YouTube’s 2022 Priorities: From NFTs to new ways for creators to make money, it’s shaping up to be a busy year for Big Red. CEO Wojcicki’s annual post hints at a brand-new YouTube on the way, leaning into Shorts, music, gaming, shopping, and much more. If you leverage YouTube for work or play, this is a must read.?

Creator Pay Debate Continues: Everyone’s been talking about Hank Green’s “So...TikTok Sucks” video. Boy, did he poke the bear! More creators have shared their paltry TikTok payments, including MrBeast and Safwan AhmedMia. I even weighed in with a look at the broader picture: it’s the “content graph” killing creators, not TikTok. And yes, the platforms are stepping up as well, as it looks like paid subscriptions are coming to Instagram and TikTok.

QUIBIS:?

• Marie Claire talks about the creator economy with execs from YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and Meta as part of its winter “creator issue.”
• “Rich Girl” creator Alyssa McKay talks with the YouTube Creator Voices team about her search for a “forever community.”
• Evan Shapiro is back with his monthly Media Universe map — the creator economy neighborhood is getting crowded.
• Remember the Bitmoji craze? Get ready for the NFT version, which is likely to fade just as quickly.
• Congrats to friend of the newsletter Dmitry Shapiro raising $20M for Koji!
• Jellysmack en fuego: helping older celebs go viral and spending $500M to buy old YouTube videos.
• New Truth Social network courts creators.
• More Web3 hate — but scroll down because the comments are gold.
• Content creators should NOT stick to a niche.
• Playing catch-up: the absence of Black creators on the Forbes TikTok list highlights a bigger issue.
• Hank Green explains why TikTok is not going to Vine.
• Is the next great fashion influencer… a cartoon?

PROMO: My friends at the Step Conference in Dubai are at it again. Their highly anticipated technology and startup event will be held IN PERSON this February 23 – 24 in Dubai Internet City! They are covering topics such as Crypto, Web3, AI, NFTs, and other future technologies with speakers including the founders and executives of companies like Amazon, Anghami, Atoms, and Peloton. I spoke there in 2020 and it was awesome!

Learn more here, and for Inside the Creator Economy readers we have a special discount code for tickets: DISC-FyJb

This Week at VidCon Now:

• TUESDAY: Join author and beauty entrepreneur CelinaSpookyBoo as she discusses how she turned her platform as a creator into a multi-hyphenate business. Watch it live at 12 PM (PT) at?live.vidcon.com.
• THURSDAY: Amazon Live combines the fun and interactive nature of live video with online shopping. Learn how influencers can earn with product recommendation videos, interact with shoppers in real time, and grow a following on Amazon. Watch it live at 10 AM (PT) at?live.vidcon.com.

Tip of the Week:?

This week’s tip comes from Kudzi Chikumbu, Director of Creator Community at TikTok:

Virality is fun, but a real community pays the bills.?Don’t look past the few who support you today in hopes of catching the attention of the millions who don’t really care about you tomorrow.

I see it time and time again (literally five years of seeing this online). Chasing views, likes, and virality will give you that serotonin boost that feels oh-so-good, but if you’re trying to build a career, it’s all about consistency and community. Respond back to the people that support you — yes, even whether that’s only 100 people or 1,000 people — those are the people who will spread the word and help you become an even bigger success.?

What We’re Watching:

• Actor Taye Diggs is showing a?different side of himself on TikTok!
• The?work from home struggle?is real.
• Remember the yodel kid from Walmart??He’s back!
• There’s something about?The Lizard Girl?that got us all talking.?Watch the full video from?@heaberald?on?YouTube. Jump to 23:00 for the Lizard bit.

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 Insights.”

Jim