u/Pitiful-Phrase4042

Hey guys,

I wanted to talk about something that happened in March.

Vanity Fair had hired some creators like Jake Shane, Quen Blackwell and Brittany Broski to host the red carpet at their Oscars After Party. The interviews got a lot of attention, but not all of it was good attention. There were some awkward moments and even Kris Jenner straight up asked them “How did you get this gig?”

That one night started a bigger argument online. Tabitha Brown defended the creators. She said successful creators deserve to be in those spaces too. But journalist Jemele Hill pushed back. She pointed out that a lot of trained journalists, especially Black entertainment reporter are losing jobs and opportunities because outlets are picking people with big followings instead of experience.

Both sides do have a point. Creators bring huge audiences that traditional media can’t reach anymore. But at the same time, aloot of journalism jobs have been cut and experienced reporters are getting pushed out.

Having a big following can get you in the room, but what you do once you’re there is what actually matters.

What do y'all think about it?

Hey everyone,
I need to tell you about something useful I learnt.

You can now tag affiliate products directly inside your Reels. When you post a Reel, there’s an option in the share screen to add products. People can tap the tag and buy straight from your video, so there’s no more sending them to your bio link.

Adam Mosseri announced it last month. It’s already live in the US, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Thailand and a few other countries. It’s coming to more places soon.

You need to be 18 or older and have at least 1,000 followers to use it. And you still have to clearly say it’s an affiliate or ad because the rules haven’t changed on that.

YouTube also just lowered their requirement for product tagging to 500 subscribers.

This makes it way easier to earn money directly from your content instead of just hoping people click a link.

Hey guys,
Let's talk about something cool I have been following up on TikTok, Reels and even x.I think it was very creative because I find myself captured for hours just following.

There’s a content format blowing up across Asia right now that most of us in the West haven’t heard about. It’s the micro drama.

Each episode is short, usually between 60 seconds and 2 minutes. It always ends on a cliffhanger so you want to watch the next one right away. You can easily binge 10 or 15 episodes in one sitting. It’s like a Netflix series, but made for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.

It started big in China. Now it’s exploding in India and Southeast Asia. In April, JioHotstar launched a whole section called Tadka with over 100 micro dramas on the first day. Other big platforms are releasing dozens of new ones every month. The industry in India alone is expected to be worth billions soon.

The best part for creators is that you don’t need a fancy studio or expensive equipment. You just need a good story, a phone and basic editing. The hard part is ending every episode on a strong hook.

This format is still early in most places outside Asia but has been there since we watch their videos.The audience wants it, platforms are paying for it and not many creators are doing it well yet. That window probably won’t stay open for long.Could this work where you are? Really think it could so maybe just try.

Hey guys,
Brands are now specifically asking creators for more imperfect content. They want videos that feel less polished and more like a real person made them.

A few years ago, everyone was trying to make everything look perfect. Now brands are saying the opposite. They’re worried that super smooth, over edited videos look too much like AI. Audiences are spotting that fake feeling even when they can’t explain exactly what feels off.

I saw this in a Digiday article and Hootsuite’s 2026 trends report. Both said the same thing: over editing is out. Natural pauses, little mistakes and genuine reactions now signal that a real human is behind the content.

It makes sense when you think about it. People have seen so much perfect, manufactured stuff that they’re craving anything that feels honest. The parts you used to cut because they weren’t flawless are often the exact moments that make viewers trust you more and connect with you.

This doesn’t mean sloppy or low effort videos. It just means you don’t have to spend hours fixing every single pause, smoothing every transition or making every frame look perfect. Sometimes leaving in the real, human moments actually works better.

Hey,
Discord filed for an IPO back in January. Most people still think of it as that gaming chat app, but that’s not really true anymore.

It has 259 million people using it every month. Last year, it made $561 million which is 29% more than the year before. Over half the users now aren’t even gamers. The fast growing servers are about tech, education, finance and creative stuff.

The advantage is that Discord doesn’t run display ads, so they don’t kill your reach like Instagram and TikTok do. If you build a server, your people actually see what you post.

Users can also stay on it for a long time.That’s way more than other platforms. It’s not quick scrolling because people choose to be there.

Building on Discord takes alot of effort. There's no algorithm pushing your stuff. But in return, you get deeper connections with people who actually want to be in your space.I think that's cool.

Hey,
I saw some data that I really want to talk about.

Podcast hosts have way more trust than most short form creators right now. The numbers are pretty nice...56% of people who listen to podcasts every week say the host matters most to them. That’s almost three times higher than what people say about regular social media influencers.

To make it stronger, 67% of podcast listeners have actually bought something because a host recommended it. And 85% have taken some kind of action after listening to a show.

It makes sense when you think about it. When someone listens to a podcast, they’re choosing to spend 30 minutes or even an hour with that voice. It’s not like scrolling through 15 second videos while waiting in line. They’re actually paying attention. That kind of time builds a much deeper level of trust.

This explains why long form audio is doing so well for building real connection and making sales right now.

Hey guys , lets talk about scams ..

Creator scams have gotten really good this year. Even experienced creators are getting fooled now.

Scammers used to be easy to spot with weird emails. Not anymore. AI lets them write perfect messages, copy a brand’s exact style, build real looking websites and make it all feel personal to you.

The most common scam is like: a “brand” reaches out with a nice offer. They send a professional contract. You make the content. Then they either disappear or ask you to pay for shipping or samples upfront.

Smaller creators get scammed the most because they reply fast when they’re excited.

Always check this to protect yourself :

Real brands email from their official company address, not Gmail.
Never pay any money upfront.
Don’t make the content until the payment is already in your account.

If something feels rushed or off, just walk away.Always check the red flags and connect the dots. But remember, not all of them are scams.

Hey,
For years, the easy way for creators to make money was simple. You learn something, turn it into a course or ebook and sell it. That worked great for a long time.But it’s changing fast.

Most people who buy those self-paced courses never finish them. The completion rate is usually between 5% and 15%. And now with AI, a lot of them don’t even start. They can just ask AI and get the info in seconds for free.

So, what changed is that information isn’t rare anymore. People used to pay because it was hard to find. In 2026, that’s not true anymore.

What’s working better now is cohort programs and community learning. These have completion rates between 70% and 90%. People aren’t just buying information anymore.They’re buying the experience of going through it with other people, with real accountability and the creator guiding them live.

So lets start moving away from one time courses. We should be running paid challenges, group programs and monthly communities instead. It takes more work and more of your time but you can charge more and people actually get results.But its not something you should do if you don't want to.

Basically, its when the brand decides that your behavior online or offline no longer aligns with their image.They can terminate the deal immediately. No negotiation and no warning.

The definitions are always written very broadly so it can cover everything from a controversial post to something that happened at a completely unrelated event. I saw a clause triggered because someone was filmed crowd surfing at a concert during a brand activation and the brand cited venue rule violations.

The power imbalance is big and heartbreaking. Brands come with legal teams and contracts written in their favor. Even big creators often face these one sided agreements where the brand decides what aligns with their values.

The good thing is that these clauses are often negotiable if you push back or have someone review the contract. You can ask for clearer definitions, shorter timeframes or just ask them to show the actual harm before terminating.

If you’re doing brand deals make sure you read the fine print, especially anything around termination or morality. Getting a quick review from someone who understands creator contracts can save you a lot of trouble down the line.

Hey,
I need to talk about something crazy that happened on Twitch.

Back in January, an AI VTuber named Neuro-sama hit number 1 in subscriptions. She got over 162,000 subs during a big event and passed every human streamer at the time. The guy in second place even went live and said, “This is the future, bro. I’m shocked.”

Neuro-sama is run by a programmer named Vedal. She uses multiple AIs so she can talk to chat, play games, sing and react in real time. She streams almost nonstop.

The moment that went viral was when she asked Vedal on stream, “Do I matter to you?” A lot of people felt that.

Here’s the thing though. This doesn’t mean AI is going to replace all human creators. Her numbers dropped a lot after the event. But it does show that audiences can actually feel connected to an AI personality now.

So what does this mean for us?Your real personality,messy opinions and your genuine reactions which are the things that only come from being a real human, is becoming more valuable, not less.

Hey,

So let's talk about something.

Private equity firms are buying popular YouTube channels. Not tiny ones. They’re buying channels that feel independent just like Veritasium, Fireship, Donut Media, Economics Explained, Dude Perfect and even CoComelon.

Big money is behind it, with billions of dollars from firms like Blackstone and SoftBank.

They also don’t have to tell viewers. The channel name stays the same. The host still shows up. Everything looks normal. But behind the scenes, things start changing. They push for more videos, safer topics and steady profits.

For example, after Veritasium got bought, they added new hosts so the whole channel doesn’t depend on just one guy. That’s good for the investors, but longtime fans can feel the difference.

This matters for us because it shows successful channels are real businesses with real value. But it also shows what happens when money becomes the main goal. The content can feel different even if it looks the same.

Hey guys,

So vine actually came back this month. They relaunched it under a new name called Divine.

If you missed the original Vine, it was a video app from 2012. It pretty much started the whole short video thing before Twitter shut it down in 2017.

Jack Dorsey, the same guy who killed the original Vine, funded the new one. They even restored a ton of old Vine videos from backups. Some early creators like Lele Pons are already posting on it.

The biggest difference is their rule on AI. No AI generated videos are allowed at all. Everything has to be shot inside the app or pass a human check.They’re basically saying that people are tired of all the fake AI stuff and want real human videos again.

It probably won’t replace TikTok or Instagram. The competition is way bigger now. But the fact that they went fully human says a lot about where things might be heading.

What do you think?

Okay this is about to drive me crazy. I post the same niche in content, same effort, same quality and even same posting style and time.Sometimes a video performs so well but the next time its struggling. I try to figure out the patterns but I can't anymore.

So lemme ask.. has your content been doing that? And when you change anything on the posts or how you post does the visibility improve ? Because now this is too much and am going crazy .

Hey, I read a Digiday article a few days ago and heres what I learned.

AI isn’t coming in the future anymore. It’s already deep in how a lot of us create now. The question now isn’t whether to use it. It’s how we use it.

YouTube’s CEO said they’re going after low-quality AI content. Right after that, a bunch of big AI spam channels got removed. Some had millions of subscribers.

A creative director at a big ad agency said something about that too. Audiences can spot generic AI stuff right away. The weird lighting, the fake feel, the lack of any real point of view. They might not be able to explain it, but they feel it.

Brands like AI influencers because they’re safe. No drama, no bad days, always available. But there’s a big difference between safe and trustworthy. People still buy more from real creators they actually trust.

For me, the clear line is using AI to help with research, scripting, editing or brainstorming is smart. It makes you faster. But when you let it replace your own voice, opinions and personality, the content starts feeling off. And platforms are already punishing that.

The real decision right now is where you draw that line.

Hey guys,
I read something last week about the creative world and I want to bring it here.

The writer was talking about a girl who posted a video of all seventeen failed attempts at a skateboard trick. Not the final success, just every single fail. That video got more engagement than anything she had ever posted.

The content that’s really connecting right now isn’t the perfect transformation or the flawless tutorial. It’s the middle part. The figuring it out stage. The uncertainty. Showing your real thinking process instead of just the clean final answer.

I see it in my own feed too. There’s a photographer I follow who posts her raw photos next to the AI edited versions, then explains which one she picked and why. People comment way more on those than on her finished shots.

It seems like we’ve all been burned by too much fake perfection. People don’t trust creators who always act like they have everything figured out. They relate to the ones who show the real work, the doubts and the actual decisions.

You don’t have to film yourself failing at everything. Just start showing more of the process behind what you do. Close the gap between what’s happening behind the scenes and what you actually post.

Sometimes that’s more than enough.

Hey ,
So most of us are undercharging and it has so little to do with not knowing our worth.

We talk about rates and brand deals, but we don’t talk about why we leave money on the table. The reason is simple. Influencer pricing has no clear standard like other parts of marketing. Brands come in with budgets, guidelines and people who negotiate for a living. Meanwhile, many of us pick a number based on what we think they will accept.

What i think is if every brand you pitch says yes right away with no pushback, no questions and no counter offer, that is a red flag. Negotiation is normal in business. When it does not happen, it often means your price was very comfortable for them. We take that quick yes as validation, but it can mean we could have asked for more.

Another issue is how we think about what we are selling. Many of us price the visible deliverable, like one Reel, one post or one video. But brands are really buying access to your audience’s trust, attention and buying behavior.

There are also things we often give away for free that are standard in traditional media. These include usage rights, exclusivity, rush fees and raw footage. Most of us include them without charging because no one told us we could.

You have built an audience that trusts you. That has real value and brands already know it. Sometimes the only person who forgets that value is you.