Good morning. Have you seen Colin and Samir’s latest video? They tested and rated nine creator merch items—from JoJo Siwa’s cereal to Danny Dunkin’s yard games. The best one of them all: Hevesh5’s dominos. Keep scrolling to hear why.

–Hannah Doyle

What's Left for Creators on Twitter?

On again, off again. Back and forth. Sounds like a toxic relationship, but it’s just another week of wondering whether Twitter will make it to 2023. Here’s the latest—and what it means for creators.

• On Thursday, Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists who had been critical of Elon Musk, including social media reporter Taylor Lorenz. They were reinstated by Saturday.

• On Sunday, Twitter banned linking out to other social platforms. Less than 24 hours later, the feature was back.

• On Sunday, Musk polled followers asking if he should step down. The response—including feedback from MrBeast—was a resounding yes:

Big picture: Twitter has long been primarily a distribution tool for creators to promote their other (more monetizable) work—a tool Musk has tried to render useless. If that distribution mechanism shuts down, much of Twitter’s incentive for creators disappears—and the platform runs the risk of becoming useless for much else aside from shouting into the void, too broad to function as a community discourse platform like Discord or Reddit. 

Our Take

At this point, it’s tough to make a compelling case for creators to focus much time or effort on Twitter, what with the policy whiplash. 

Twitter says it wants to accommodate creators, but its actions say otherwise. Since Musk’s mission has been to make the app more free, it’s only gone backwards, removing useful features and cutting corners. 

So for creators? As long as you can promote your work on the platform, it doesn't hurt to hold out for better days. But have a back-up in case the app doesn’t see the light of 2023. 

Wishbone Kitchen Starts a Blog

2012 called and TikToker Meredith Hayden answered. The food creator just launched her new site, Wishbone Kitchen, to share recipes and food guides, and yes—it’s all on a blog. 

Backstory: Hayden gained popularity on TikTok vlogging her life as a private chef in the Hamptons. She started on the app two years ago and now has over 1 million followers.

Hayden took to her personal TikTok to explain the reasoning behind the launch of her blog: “One thing I’ve learned about being a content creator is the importance of owning your IP,” Hayden said. “I feel confident…that everything on [the blog] is mine.”

That’s because a blog gives Hayden control over content and visibility, unlike TikTok, which is increasingly becoming known for mysteriously throttling or deleting creators’ work. 

Our Take

It bears repeating that building your business on one platform is like building your house on rented land. Apps are volatile—look no further than our lead story today or last week’s coverage of a potential TikTok ban.

While blogs have always been a staple of the food world (following a recipe via text > following one on short-form video), we expect creators in other genres to follow suit to keep their IP their own—think Luke Korns doing a travel blog or Haley Pham writing book reviews.

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Is Alix Earle the next Addison Rae?

The 22-year-old has been taking TikTok and Instagram by storm, surpassing 1 million followers on TikTok and jumping from 400k to 500k Instagram followers in less than a week.

Who is she? 

A senior at the University of Miami whose “get ready with me” videos feature her lavish lifestyle in an honest way, often talking about her struggles with acne and her personal life.

Our Take

The next wave of aspirational content strikes a balance of fantasy—featuring clothes and looks most will never have—with reality—showing a personality that’s honest and raw. It’s no longer about appearing perfect. It’s about the “perfect” appearing real and showing imperfections. Earle is capitalizing—big time.

The winner of Colin and Samir’s latest merch video is Lily Hevesh aka Hevesh5, a domino artist and long-time YouTube creator. 

Quick backstory: Hevesh started making videos in 2009 when she was 10 years old and has amassed over 1 billion views on her channel. She’s been in videos with Mark Rober and even has a documentary charting her rise.

The dominos she sells are the exact ones she uses in her videos, and the product is ranked as an Amazon Choice on Amazon shopping. It’s a perfect example of content–product fit.

👀 Creator Moves

• Jarvis Johnson is hiring for a part-time personal assistant. Must be based in LA.

• SSundee is looking for a thumbnail designer with an understanding of YouTube analytics and Creative Cloud Suite.

• Khalid Al Ameri is hiring a YouTube Producer to help launch a new channel.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Dude Perfect shares details behind its $100 million theme park.

• Kai Cenat appears on GQ.

• TikTok is banned on Auburn University wifi, joining other universities that are banning the app.

• Get four free months of premium music with Track Club, the music licensing app built just for creators.*

• Danny McMahon does a deep dive on Nardwuar.

• Emily The Engineer and other creators do a Secret Santa exchange.

*This is sponsored advertising content.

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