The Thumbnail's Days Are Numbered - Here's What Comes Next

Here's What's New and Caught My Eye this Week

When Creator Funds Run Dry? Everyone from TikTok and YouTube to Instagram and Snap has proudly announced their multi-million-dollar funds to lure creators to their platforms. But the lessons of the First Punic War still stand: when you buy a mercenary army, you have to keep paying up. Snap, alas, is learning this lesson the hard way.

Instagram Users Are Revolting: More barbarians at the gate?! This time, it’s the photo-based creatives who helped build Instagram. The app’s recent pivot to video has many of them up in arms –– and rightly so. An exodus is under way to new platforms like VSCO and Artfol. But I’m most excited about Glass, a gated photo-only community recently spotlighted by old friend Om Malik.

YouTube Killing Off the Thumbnail: If you’re a YouTuber, you’ve likely stressed over the perfect thumbnail for your video. Consultants, A/B testing tools, and even sessions at VidCon have helped countless creators optimize for clickability. But it looks like the thumbnail is being upstaged –– at least in search –– by auto-generated chapters and time-stamped images. Sounds good for users, but somewhere Jeremy Vest is tearing his hair out.

Facebook Tries to Shift Newsfeed Narrative: Exactly five years ago, there were two independent companies tracking popular Facebook pages and trends. A few months later, Big Blue bought one of them, CrowdTangle. It’s stayed mostly independent, but now Facebook is using that data to create a quarterly “Widely Viewed Content Report” to shape the newsfeed narrative. The other company, NewsWhip, is still out there and has their own rankings. What’s really happening on Facebook? We still just don’t know - but after being roundly criticized, the company just released a "previously unseen" report with much more detail on top viewed stories.

QUIBIS: 

• The imperfect virtual influencer turning heads and gaining followers in China.
• Billboard and Logitech launch a top 20 monthly chart focused on creator-first music.
• Understanding the #bamarush craze on TikTok.
• Turns out that a monopoly on stupid cat videos is illegal in the UK.
• Bad Unicorn makes fun of creator economy VCs.
• No one wants to invest in OnlyFans.
• Two interesting new startups for creators: Super helps you move beyond subscriptions, while Rebel is a Web3 linktree on crypto-steroids.
• The rise of “genuinfluencers,” or how I just threw up in my mouth.
• Airrack launches a creator bootcamp.
• Email me if you want to have a meeting on Horizon Workrooms. I’m psyched to check it out!

This Week at VidCon Now:

• THURSDAY: You know her, you love her! Join YouTube and TikTok star Pau Torres for a 1:1 Q&A moment. Be sure to tune in early for your chance to ask her a question live on stage! Watch it live at 3 PM (PT) here.
• FRIDAY: There’s no better way to start the weekend than with a dance party! Join dance extraordinaire Lauren Gottlieb as she breaks down a fun routine that’s sure to impress! Watch it live at 10 AM (PT) at live.vidcon.com.

Tip of the Week: This week’s Tip of the Week comes from Timothy Armoo, the CEO of Fanbytes!

What TikTok has provided is a platform for storytelling on steroids, which therefore means that rather than focusing on growing your biggest audience by doing what you may do on Instagram to growth hack your following, instead focus on telling great stories per video. Especially focus on optimising for watch time and rewatch rate, as they are the two biggest factors that affect TikTok content and the TikTok algorithm. This is a golden opportunity; make sure you use it.

What We’re Watching: 

After joining TikTok in March 2020, Dr. Phil (or someone on his team) proves himself surprisingly adept at participating in the trends. Have you embraced the magic of polyrhythms yet? Over on YouTube, British high schoolers are trying Korean food for the first time.

Finally, A quick announcement...

We were so confident that we’d be able to put on the VidCon you know and love this October and could not wait to reconnect with all of you IRL. Unfortunately, due to the recent increases in COVID-19 cases and evolving health and safety mandates, we have come to the difficult but right decision to cancel VidCon this October. We just can’t risk the health and safety of our attendees, creators, speakers, sponsors, and staff — and we want to ensure we provide EVERYONE with the very best VidCon experience. We really, really can’t wait to see you in June 2022 in the US or in Abu Dhabi in December!!

For more information on transfers and refunds, please click here.

See you around the internet, and feel free to share this with anyone you think might be interested, and if someone forwarded this to you, you can sign up on our website at VidCon.com — scroll down and select “VidCon Weekly Industry Highlights."