ICYMI: The Best Creator Holiday Gift Ideas
Here's what happened on social media this week, December 9
Thanks for reading — ICYMI is news and trends for and about creators.
💻 ROADMAP
📲Instagram Updates
Instagram announced creators will now be able to see whether — after breaking platform rules — their posts are being blocked. This seems like a hollow attempt to demystify shadowbanning for creators who say they’re suffering from low engagement. But since Instagram refuses to acknowledge shadowbans, it seems like the information they’re offering and the answers creators actually want aren’t going to line up.
📲LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn announced new creator analytics to provide extra insights into your audience and top performing content, including the ability:
to track your follower growth and see a demographic breakdown of your follower base
to see up to three of your top performing posts by either impressions or engagements
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
🤖 AI Tools Had the Best Week Ever
AI-generated text and images seemed to dominate social this week. Whatever platform you were on, it was hard to miss the Lensa AI selfies and ChatGPT AI chatbot scripts. Full disclosure: I would have had ChatGPT write this newsletter if I had gotten access in time.
And that’s not all. Disney’s developed an AI that can make actors look older or younger. And a new learning and development tool called Synthesia is looking to disrupt training videos using AI avatars and voices based on your scripts. It’s alternately impressive, slightly alarming (the robots may not be replacing us yet but it’s coming) and raising red flags for all sorts of issues.
Take the Lensa selfies. As a lot of female content creators pointed out, if you self-select as female the avatars tend toward big-breasted fairy princesses and fantasy femme bots while guys are depicted as astronauts, rock stars and adventurers.
People were also able to manipulate the app into generating non-consensual soft porn using Photoshopped images — something the company says it expects users to avoid because, wait for it… it goes against their terms of use guidelines. Have they met anyone on the internet, ever?
And then there are the ethical implications of an app that was trained on 2.3 billion captioned images, which include watermarked images and copyrighted works, leaving artists no way to opt out of having their work incorporated.
We’re still in the AI-as-novelty-era but it does seem like this will one day fundamentally change how content gets created and distributed. So the worst thing you could do right now is ignore these red flags and assume that the developers in charge of training AI apps are going to do right by you.
🧮 DATA OF THE WEEK
43% of TikTok users are using the app for mindless entertainment
Via The New Consumer: Consumer Trends 2023. This could very much explain why creators have a hard time maintaining loyal audiences on TikTok — app users just want to be entertained, it doesn't matter by whom.
📣 QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“In-person experiences will drive community between creators & Gen Z fans. Gen Z social media users are excited about realizing their digital relationships. Nearly a third of Gen Z users look forward to in-person experiences—like creator conventions and meet and greets—with their favorite influencers.”
Via Instagram’s 2023 Trend Report, which reinforces the trend we’ve seen toward more direct relationships between creators and their communities, whether that’s in-person or through websites, emails, DMs and private groups.
👩🏽🤝👨🏻 PEOPLE
MrBeast is headed to Fortnite -Reed Duchscher
Move over Raya, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Reveal They Met Via Instagram -People
Arielle Charnas' company, Something Navy, is floundering amid dwindling sales, an employee exodus, and furious suppliers -Insider
Noodle, The Pug Who Went Viral For “No Bones" Days, Has Died -BuzzFeed News
📖 ALSO ON MY RADAR…
The dark, uncertain world of creator funds -The Verge
TikTok’s best of 2022 shows its most viral videos are getting smaller -The Verge
TikTok Music Lawsuits Fire Warning Shots to Brands, Influencers -Bloomberg
Vlogmas is making a comeback as YouTube promotes Shorts -Insider
Google’s Year In Search 2022 -Google
Pinterest Predicts 2023 -Pinterest
🎁 THE BEST GIFTS FOR CREATORS
Creators aren’t lacking for swag. So, what do you get the person who owns almost everything and is gifted the rest? Gear is always good. I got multiple recommendations for the Osmo Mobile 6 smartphone gimbal. And anything designer is always appreciated — as long as it’s not Balenciaga. You might also consider some of these holiday gift ideas, whether you’re sending to a friend or shopping for yourself.
Bigger Is Better
AirPod Pros were cool until influencers made wired earphones a thing. Now, we’re going even more conspicuous with AirPods Max wireless over-ear headphones. They’re big, bulky and beautiful with a sound that’s said to be best in class
Extremely Online: The untold story of fame, influence, and power on the internet
Technically, Taylor Lorenz’s book about social media influencers turned modern-day entrepreneurs isn’t available to buy yet. But send in your email to taylorlorenzbook@gmail.com to be on the pre-order list for early 2023 — it’s bound to be a buzzy read and maybe you’ll even spot yourself in the book!
Swipe Up for More: Inside the Unfiltered Lives of Influencers
This is another pre-order for your 2023 reading pleasure that’s described as “an unfiltered, colorful romp through the IRL world of influencers” from BuzzFeed News culture reporter Stephanie McNeal.
Get the Tea (Mug)
Social Media Tea has a whole collection of printed mugs with chronically online slogans. And the hex code on the mug is a nice touch if you decide to color match your mug to your digital projects.
If I’m not getting paid, no.
Let your favorite creator know that you value their worth — and they should, too — with this sweatshirt that speaks directly to influencers from Hermana Agency.
Haute Unboxing
Remember when the Chanel advent calendar went viral for all the wrong reasons? Brands are now stepping it up with legit luxury goodies. And the best part about advent calendars is they give you 24 days of unboxing content.
Influencers Gone Wild
Go places. Gain followers. Get famous. Whip out this board game from Influencers in the Wild at your next family gathering and give everyone the chance to go viral.
See also…
*Some of the links above include Amazon affiliate links. You know the drill: If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission.