Good morning. Put a finger down if you’re still reeling from the mind-blowing photos of thousands of distant galaxies NASA released this week, so much so that it’s been hard to think about anything other than how small the human life form really is in the grand scheme of things. *Puts a finger down.*

Anyway, let’s talk about creators.

–Hannah Doyle

Why Reaction Videos Hold Strong on YouTube Trending

It’s a distinctly YouTube thing—someone records something. And then someone else records themselves reacting to that thing. And then someone else uploads a reaction to that reaction. Repeat ad nauseum.

Bo Burnham parodied the referential style of video in his comedy special Inside, but the genre can be a strong performer—look no further than comedy creator Cody Ko. This week he shared a video reacting to Cut’s speed dating show that lets people reject each other with the push of a button (apropos of nothing, the show is called The Button).

Despite having half the subscribers Cut has, Ko’s reaction video surpassed Cut’s original video in views, comments, and overall engagement within one day.

There’s a reason mega-creators like KSI and MrBeast gravitate toward reaction videos and why Danny Gonzalez and Corridor Crew have established their channels with that format. Reaction videos typically take less time and money than other high production videos, making them easier to upload more frequently (and more uploads mean more ad inventory).

Reaction videos can highlight the many sides to a creator’s personality, revealing their unscripted impulses and appealing to a new subset of reaction-style fans who might not have previously watched that creator’s videos.

But reaction videos require creators to depend on another person’s body of work. If the original video leaves viewers wanting more, there might be little fodder for commentary.

Our Take

The reaction genre makes watching alone not feel so lonely (a reason why Airrack’s dating videos, which blend the reaction and traditional formats, do so well).

What’s crucial is curation. Does it make sense if you, as a vlogger, start reacting to weird craft videos? Do some digging on what else your audience likes to see—maybe they’ve already asked for your reaction on a topic—and go from there. They might love it.

Now You Control the FYP

Imagine the For You Page (FYP) but no explicit videos. Or the FYP but you never have to see #Gentleminions again.

Both are possible with TikTok’s latest filtering tool, released on Wednesday. Users are now able to specify words and hashtags that they want removed from their For You or Following feeds, and TikTok will automatically filter them out.

The big picture: TikTok’s algorithm is lauded as one of the most powerful around. But this week’s update reflects an important reality—the algorithm can and will change.

For example:

• In 2019, TikTok introduced the option to select “not interested” on particular videos, users, and sounds.

• In 2021, TikTok started working on an algorithm tool that can keep users from seeing too much content on one topic, like diet, weight loss, or sadness.

Our Take

Sometimes the FYP feels like a slot machine. But with algorithmic tweaks, TikTok is making it feel more like a TV guide, complete with parameters and preferences. The audience gets to refine what they see, and creators experience the upside—their content is served up to the users who want to engage with it.

Sponsored by Jellysmack

The Big "But" of Short-Form Content

We love short-form content and all the value it’s unlocked for creators. But there’s a problem.

The ability for creators to monetize short-form content isn’t quite there yet. The team at Jellysmack has seen this and is here to help.

Jellysmack is expanding its Creator Program to enable short-form creators to distribute their videos across multiple platforms to find more fans and make more money.

Here’s what they’re up to:

• They’ve added 30 TikTok creators (and counting) to the program where they’ll optimize and distribute their content to Facebook Reels and YouTube Shorts.

• They’re making it easier for TikTok creators to transition into long-form platforms, like YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook.

• As a part of a curated pilot partnership with Meta, they’ve already enabled 150+ creators to distribute and monetize on Facebook Reels—driving 600M views in the first 28 days according to Jellysmack’s internal data.

Learn more about Jellysmack’s expansion into short-form content.

Lofi Girl Returns

The study party came to a grinding halt on Sunday after a false copyright infringement complaint issued by a Malaysian music group against Lofi Girl prompted YouTube to take down the mega-popular 24/7 music livestream.

At the time that Lofi Girl’s oldest and most popular stream, “lofi hip hop radio – beats to relax/study to", was stopped, it had over 668 million views and had been running for 20,843 hours, or over two years—making the video one of the longest-running in platform history. YouTube last took down the livestream in February 2020 for violating the platform’s terms of service, which it later confirmed was also a mistake.

Lofi Girl returned to her desk on Tuesday, with YouTube citing that the copyright notices were “abusive” and false.

Our Take

False claims of copyright infringement can be used as weapons to temporarily target popular accounts, especially gamers and streamers. This wasn’t the first time for Lofi Girl, and it might not be the last. Until YouTube makes it harder to initiate copyright complaints (which doesn’t look all that likely in the immediate future), creators should be mindful of the sounds and images they show.

🔥 Press Worthy

• YouTube TV has become the most-subscribed-to live streaming platform, topping Hulu+.

• Anthony Padilla is hosting a free live event today at 3pm PST.

• Addison Rae has released a line of Barbie-like dolls at Walmart.

• Driver61 is hiring for a head of partnerships.

• The NBA is hiring a content manager for their TikTok account.

• Chase your dreams, not invoices. Get the Lumanu app.*

*This is sponsored advertising content.