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💻 ROADMAP
📲 Instagram Updates:
Instagram confirmed it’s about to test a Regram feature that gives users the ability to reshare posts in their Feed, similar to how you can reshare in Stories “...so people can share what resonates with them, and so original creators are credited for their work,” according to a Meta spokesperson.
*Thanks to Robert Freund for reminding me this is Instagram’s second attempt at a regram feature! Five years later, let’s see what happens.Instagram confirmed it’s scaling back its shopping features — goodbye Shop tab — to focus on the short-form video elements of its business that drives ad revenue.
Instagram is testing a prompt to encourage users to add Topics to their Reels uploads, in order to better categorize their clips. There’s not a lot of detail out there but the new Topic option seems to indicate a new push to use hashtags.
📲 YouTube Updates:
Spotted in the wild: YouTube now has a separate section for Shorts in the subscriptions tab of the app.
📲 Pinterest Update:
Pinterest’s TwoTwenty incubator team quietly launched a new creator app. Fellow marketer Andrew Curry flagged the Frontseat - Live Creator Q&A app. There are virtually no details online but it’s designed to facilitate creating virtual events for superfans according to the app store description.
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🏆 Forbes’ Top Creators 2022
Forbes released its first Creators list this week. It’s a power player ranking made up of everyone from gamers and pranksters to podcast hosts and lifestyle influencers.
MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson)
Charli D’Amelio
Alexandra Cooper
FuckJerry (Elliot Tebele)
Emma Chamberlain
Huda Kattan
Rhett & Link
Khaby Lame
Addison Rae
Jake Paul
Takeaway: Forbes evaluated each creator across three categories: earnings, clout and entrepreneurship. The “enterpreneurship” score points to how creators are now getting recognized for more than the content they create or communities they build. This also acknowledges the power they yield building their own companies, brands and services.
There is something incredibly entrepreneurial about becoming a creator in the first place and now we’re seeing a generation of creators graduating from labels such as “YouTuber,” “TikToker,” “Instagram star” and “Twitch streamer” to industry leaders having a real impact on the business landscape.
Or as Forbes so eloquently put it, what we’re seeing is a shift from “influencers to owners” as creators use their massive reach to start their own ventures, whether that be clothing lines, beauty empires, TV series or fast food chains.
🍔 How MrBeast Burger’s Success Could Impact The Restaurant Industry
Forbes’ top ranked creator, MrBeast, launched a physical location for his MrBeastBurger eatery at the American Dream mall in New Jersey. And in the process, logged another first. According to stats from his team: 10,000+ fans showed up and 5,500 burgers were served, breaking the one-day record for the most burgers sold by a single store.
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💄 The D’Amelio Family is launching a new venture, D’Amelio Brands, creating brands that are 100% owned by the family
Fellow Forbes creators — No. 02 and No. 21 — have a new family venture. Charli, Dixie and their parents’ new project, D’Amelio Brands, will launch and run DTC businesses in the fashion, beauty and lifestyle space.
😵 Olivia Wilde on Don’t Worry Darling, “Baseless Rumors”—And Everything Else
Celebrity publicists haven’t been this busy since the aughts before messy influencer dramas dominated our social feeds. If you’re just catching up on the hot mess that was the Venice Film Festival premiere of Don’t Worry Darling, here’s an explainer thread; if you’re confused, here’s a sports analogy; if you’re ready to take it to the next level, here are some of the best memes to come out of the film’s premiere. Finally, quipped BuzzFeed, celebrities are doing what they’re supposed to do.
📣 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"$1,000 in clothing credit doesn't even begin to cover my rate for the deliverables they requested, never mind usage, exclusivity, etc. The contract is very intense"
-A micro-influencer describing to Insider an offer she received from Revolve to be dressed by them for the brand's NYFW event, Revolve Gallery. "I think for influencers it really comes down to 'is this trade worth it?' To me, it was not." Leaked Revolve campaign emails reveal what it's offering to pay influencers for sponsored content during New York Fashion Week
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
27% of marketers typically sign contracts for less than 3 months while 16% of marketers signed single post contracts with influencers
-This from Traackr’s Influencer Marketing Impact Report, despite signs that point to longer term partnerships with influencers leading to greater impact overall for the brand, according to Holly Jackson, global director of professional services at Traackr.
👩🏽🤝👨🏻 PEOPLE
Ninja is done with the internet -Tubefilter
Kanye West turns ongoing Instagram rant on Adidas -Yahoo Finance
Kim Kardashian is launching a private-equity firm to invest in consumer, media businesses -WSJ
People Feel Bad For Addison Rae Now That Her Parents Are Being Openly Petty All Over The Internet -BuzzFeed
📖 ALSO ON MY READING LIST…
TikTok denies reports that it’s been hacked -TheVerge
Google CEO: None of us were talking about TikTok three years ago -Vox
In a leaked internal memo, CEO Evan Spiegel explains how Snapchat aims to reach $6 billion in revenue and 450 million users -TheVerge
Web3’s Toxic Positivity -MorningBrew
Philadelphia influencer drama sparks debate over the relationship between creators and PR companies -Passionfruit
It Was an Incredible Day on the Internet; the Queen Is Dead -NYMag