Good morning. And happy Election Day! If YouTube pre-roll ads from local candidates for county commission haven’t told you enough times, here’s another reminder: Today’s the last day to vote!

–Hannah Doyle

Elon's Twitter Plans, Unpacked

In the 12 days since the leader of Tesla (and SpaceX and The Boring Company and NeuraLink) took over Twitter, the platform has been even more chaotic than usual.

So-called Chief Twit Elon Musk has been quick to fire off insinuations, promises, proposals, and suggestions re: Twitter’s future—many of which could directly impact creators. Let’s roll the tape:

• Verification: On Saturday, Twitter instated a $8/month fee to become blue-check verified as part of its Twitter Blue subscription (existing verified users will be able to keep their blue checks to start). For creators? Getting verified is easier than ever…but also less exclusive.

• Monetization: Musk promised monetization “for all forms of content.” What that might look like? Sharing revenue from video ads with creators à la YouTube, plus paying top creators with strong engagement through revenue sharing or a creator fund. FYI, right now these are just ideas. Musk said he’ll deliver more concrete monetization plans in two weeks.

• Moderation: There will be no changes until a new content moderation council is formed, and the timing is still TBD.

And we know what you’re thinking: What about Vine? 70% of respondents to a Musk Twitter poll were in favor of bringing back the short-form video platform. And rumors of Logan Paul helming a revamped Vine have circulated. But it’d be a long shot—Vine has been defunct for six years (six years during which TikTok and Instagram gobbled up short-form video market share).

Keep in mind: This would be a lot of change for a dramatically reduced staff to pull off—Musk fired nearly half of Twitter’s 7,500 employees and most of its executive suite.

Our Take

Twitter has long been the proverbial town square of online discourse for creators of all kinds. Though the platform hasn’t typically been a direct revenue generator for most creators, it’s always been a place for cultural trendsetters—which makes the future of Twitter important.

With social platforms copying each other left and right, who’s to say that a Twitter overhaul couldn’t lead to new innovations (for better or worse for us creators) after which other platforms follow suit?

Who's the Next MTV?

Satire creator Nolita Dirtbag recently launched Downtown Tours, a TikTok account guiding viewers through a curated mix of NYC stores and restaurants. It was made in partnership with web3 company Mad Realities, which runs a network of reality-style TikTok shows.

Big picture: Like Fallen Media (which runs a similar slate of TikTok shows), Mad Realities and Nolita Dirtbag are taking a page from a playbook as old as cable television—bundling individual shows under one network.

The synergies are there—networks allow independent shows to tap into audiences they may not have found on their own.

But on TikTok, the terms are slightly different:

• Less overhead = more risk-taking. It costs less to make a TikTok than it does a TV pilot, meaning short-form creators can experiment faster to find a content-market fit.

• Non-exclusive work. Often, signing with a new-age network doesn’t mean giving up your own personal content the way traditional media might. For example, Nolita Dirtbag is still running his Instagram account while working with Mad Realities on TikTok. That mitigates risk.

Our Take

While many creators struggle to monetize alone on TikTok, a savvy route to profitability and growth could be joining a network. These “network” creators are building the social equivalent of franchising, where they cross-promote and share production resources for a wider reach.

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Dr Disrespect Builds an AI Service

Streamers—tired of filming yourself for every piece of promotional material? Dr Disrespect is too.

That’s why the gamer recently introduced his new venture Bonfire.TV, which lets creators generate their own avatar and voiceover icon using AI.

The platform will also offer subscription and moderation options as a way for fans to use a creator’s avatar. For example, they could make a meme or GIF with the avatar to share on social media.

Our Take

With VTubing on the rise and streamers feeling spread thin by long livestreaming hours, a program like this lets creators expand their image and likeness more easily and lets fans make meme-able content for them.

👀 Creator Moves

• Ali Abdaal is on a hiring spree, searching for video editors and writers/researchers. Can be remote or based in London.

• NotNico is looking for a channel manager for his Minecraft channel Nico.

• TBNR Productions is hiring for an operations manager with 3-5 years of experience.

🔥 Press Worthy

• Unspeakable opens a theme park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

• Airrack hits 10 million subscribers.

• YouTube releases a co-streaming feature.

• A chart of how much money MrBeast has spent on his YouTube videos.

• A TikTok ban regains momentum heading into the midterms.

• This is what vlogging looked like in the '80s.