Do you suffer from algorithm anxiety?

Last week, I interviewed YouTube legend, Sara Dietschy. It was on the heels of the news that she launched a Kickstarter for her newest project, Lab22 – desktop accessories for creatives like you and me.

That Kickstarter has raised more than $350,000 for Lab22!

It was a natural evolution for Sara, who built a name for herself doing reviews of different tech products on her YouTube channel.

Sara has more than 860,000 subscribers on YouTube and one of the most engaged audiences I've seen on social media – but she told me she still wakes up every day and worries that it could all go away.

I call this algorithm anxiety. Fear that the almighty algorithm (whichever platform you're creating on) can turn on you and take away all of the fame and fortune it gave to you.

But that's never happened for Sara – at least not completely. Despite changing directions with her content recently, some of her newest videos have much higher view counts than usual.

In any case, if you're battling algorithm anxiety, I would recommend making your creator business more resilient – and the best way to do that is to prioritize at least one method of building trust that doesn't depend on any algorithms.

That may be:

• Email
• Podcasting
• SMS messaging
• A third-party community platform

Something where your ability to communicate with your audience can't go away.

In this episode with Sara, we talk about algorithm anxiety, why she stopped her podcast, why she's dropping most tech reviews, and more. I think you're going to love it.

Watch on YouTube:

Don't see the embed? Watch the interview here

I hope you enjoy the full episode! Send me a note or comment on YouTube to let me know what you think.

And if you'd rather check out the audio-only podcast, listen on Spotify below or choose your favorite player here.

Taking the long view on short-form video

The year is 2077.

You're reflecting on your life, your creative career, and the body of work you're leaving behind.

With a little mental math, you realize you've probably posted about 20,000 videos to TikTok and Reels (averaging one per day every day for 55 years). That's 10,000 hours of recorded content, not including the time producing the content itself.

"Thank goodness I spent all that time making TikToks," you think to yourself.

This week, we're digging into the world of short-form video. We discuss:

• Why short-form is popular
• What short-form platforms want
• The optimistic case
• The critical case
• Where we're headed
• My approach to short form

Continue reading (8 mins) ↗

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About Jay Clouse

Hey, I'm Jay! I'm the founder of Creator Science and the host of Creative Elements, a narrative-interview podcast exploring how today’s top creators make a living with their art and creativity.

I previously led the Community Experience team for Pat Flynn and Smart Passive Income, designing their paid membership community and cohort-based course programs.

You can connect with me on Twitter or Instagram.