BY JIM LOUDERBACK
TL;DR
- Lots of chatter about YouTube’s long-time CEO stepping back last week. Some of the best: OG Creator Economy exec Leslie Morgan decries the loss of women leadership in Silicon Valley and the more bro-ish content direction YouTube has seen recently.
- Matt Navarra calls Instagram messaging “the best new feature in years”, as Instagram adds “Broadcast Channels” to the platform.
- Roblox envisions everyone as creator, says CTO Daniel Sturman. They plan on using generative AI to allow every user to create items, skins, clothing, and even full-on experiences on the platform.
- We need a word for AI anthropomorphism. Because that’s what this article is. And that’s what Ben Thompson, author of Stratechery, has spent countless hours falling victim to.
- As the U.S. rattles its sabers, TikTok doubles down on creators and hopes to forestall a traffic slump too. Kaya Yurieff posted a number of scoops last week, including how growth is slowing.
This Week February 21, 2023: What Susan Wojcicki’s departure means for the creator economy, all about Instagram’s innovative new messaging feature that lets creators talk directly to their fans, how Roblox wants to turn everyone into a creator, the weird anthropomorphism roiling the chatbot wars, and TikTok’s efforts to keep creators and increase traffic. It’s the end of February 2023 and here’s what you need to know.
YouTube CEO Wojcicki Steps Down: Lots of chatter about YouTube’s long-time CEO stepping back last week. Some of the best: OG Creator Economy exec Leslie Morgan decries the loss of women leadership in Silicon Valley and the more bro-ish content direction YouTube has seen recently. Longtime YouTube exec Priscilla Lau shares her experiences working with Wojcicki over the past 15 years and anticipates uncertainty to come. I took a look forward at YouTube under its new leader, former head of product Neal Mohan. I’m an optimist here, but I share Morgan’s concerns too – and hope Mohan is as creator-forward as Wojcicki was.
Instagram Messaging Arrives: Matt Navarra calls it “the best new feature in years”, as Instagram adds “Broadcast Channels” to the platform. Now creators can broadcast directly to followers with telegram-style messaging. Dylan Harari thinks this is a game-changer for creators who want to own their audience, because it works where that community already congregates. I agree, as it leans into the private communities that seem to be supplanting big unwieldy social platforms for GenZ and GenA. Alas it’s not broadly available yet – I tried to join Zuck’s “Meta Channel” but I’m still outside looking in. Related – Instagram and Facebook will start charging for verification. Uggh.
Everyone Will Be a Creator: That’s Roblox’s vision, as laid out by CTO Daniel Sturman. They plan on using generative AI to allow every user to create items, skins, clothing, and even full-on experiences on the platform. It’s not easy, given that items will need properties and characteristics that allow them to operate in a 3D world. I love the vision of pairing users with AI tools to turn everyone into a creator. Roblox is crushing it – their quarterly results were on fire with spending on Robux up significantly. And as we talked about last week, their daily usage among kids is almost 2x TikTok – and 17-24 year olds are using it more too.
Uncovering the Chatbots of Dawn: We need a word for AI anthropomorphism. Because that’s what this article is. And that’s what Ben Thompson, author of Stratechery, has spent countless hours falling victim to. From Bing to Sydney to Venom and Fury, Thompson has been uncovering NPCs inside of Microsoft’s chat engine. We definitely need the GenAI version of Asimov’s three laws of robotics. Because even anthropomorphism can get the vulnerable into trouble. Done right, though, these chatbots of dawn could be a tremendous force for good. How quickly the backlash has swelled.
TikTok Moves to Keep Creators, Boost Traffic: As the U.S. rattles its sabers, TikTok doubles down on creators and hopes to forestall a traffic slump too. Kaya Yurieff posted a number of scoops last week, including how growth is slowing, the company is readying a new fund that promises higher payout and a new video paywall too. Creator Fund 2.0 will likely limit itself to mid-level and above creators and may add other requirements as well. And in a related development, TikTok is launching an HQ Trivia clone to help promote a new movie – and perhaps juice engagement too. My take? I’m not a fund fan and creator payout will likely disappoint. And probably won’t keep creators from defecting at scale. I’m also bearish on a $1 paywall, but perhaps longer videos will juice the ooze. I do like the trivia feature – one that Lionsgate probably paid a boatload for.
— SPONSORED: CREATOR SQUARED COMING TO NAB —
So excited to be working with Robin Raskin to bring a creator focus to this year’s NAB Show. Just as new tools and a creator-first focus are transforming broadcasting, creators are building infrastructure that borrows from traditional media but with an iterative and innovative twist. I’m creating workshops, roundtables and discussions for Creator Squared that connect the dots between the two worlds. And I’ll be emceeing live! Want to get involved? Contact Gigi@virtualeventsgroup.org or me!
