Happy Friday. Lately I’ve been exploring the world of golf YouTube, looking for creators that go beyond instruction and highlight reels. Do you know of anyone shaking up golf content—on YouTube, TikTok or otherwise? Reply with a golf creator you find interesting, and why.

–Hannah Doyle

Hank Green Criticizes Instagram’s New NFT Feature

Last week the education creator addressed a recent video released by Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri. In the video, Mosseri announced the platform’s plan to integrate NFT capabilities, starting with the ability for creators to share NFTs they have made or purchased.

Green took issue specifically when Mosseri said, “Creators are incredibly important to Instagram. But one of the challenging things that we need to solve as an industry is how to help creators make a living doing what they love.”

Green noted that Instagram has actually been monetizing creator’s work for a long time. “It sounds like when you’re pitching NFTs for Instagram, you haven’t figured out yet how to monetize creator’s content but you make $20 billion dollars a year doing that,” Green said.

Instagram generated an estimated $24 billion in ad revenue in 2020, which was made through advertising placed in between pieces of content—largely made by creators.

Other creators chimed in with their perspective. Foraging TikToker Alexis Nikole’s response was, “They say this after they stopped the program where they shared ad revenue from the ads shown during IGTVs with creators.”

Comedian Christian Hull added, “I’m at a crisis point where I love making the content but the 50 cents I get a week from Instagram isn’t really helping me do this full time.”

At Instagram’s parent company, Meta, they’re making a shift for the metaverse but the focus of their social platforms, Instagram and Facebook, is still up in the air. A spokesperson for Meta told The New York Times they expect their budgets for the second half of 2022 to be smaller than previous years.

Our Take

Platforms provide creators with a megaphone and creators provide content for the platform’s users to consume. The key to making this dynamic mutually beneficial is finding alignment; creators need to be incentivized to create more value for the platform and vice versa. Revenue share in some capacity is typically the strongest path to achieving this.

Van Neistat Doubles Patreon Subscribers in 3 Days

Last week, the filmmaker and YouTube creator released his first zine in celebration of reaching 1,000 Patreon subscribers. The zine explores filmmaking and outlines whether readers should try to make a living off of art.

In the release video, he promised to make a new zine for every 1,000 Patreon subscribers. Three days later, his Patreon subscribers doubled to 2,000. Today, he has 2,360 Patreon patrons, which brings in a total of $10,286 per month.

The Spirited Man zines follow the form of the Ten Bullets zine by designer Tom Sachs, who Van worked under. Future issues will explore similar themes of film, art, and life that align with The Spirited Man’s ethos, which is the basis for his channel. The Patreon, which Van started in January, also gives subscribers access to curated videos with director commentaries, q&a live streams, and group discussion sessions.

Our Take

One of the hardest parts about being a creator is that your revenue can be inconsistent from month to month. Van's Patreon followers offer him some stability and a source of monthly recurring revenue that he can rely on. The exclusive nature of the zines are a clever marketing tactic that clearly worked to drive subscriptions.

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100 Thieves Launches a Video Game

The gaming company has been on a tear of new ventures—releasing golf merch, signing Hype House member Vinnie Hacker, and as of this week, launching their own video game under the temporary name Project X.

They’re using their creators, pros, and community to aid in development. “We have a lot of thoughtful people that have interesting takes on game design that currently isn’t being used,” John Robinson, president and COO of 100 Thieves said. Fans can follow their Twitter and blog for updates on how to get involved in the creation process.

Our Take

By leveraging their community and player roster, 100 Thieves is taking a similar approach to DrDisrespect’s Midnight Society by including their community in molding the direction of the company. Creators, esport pros, and the community are working together to develop Project X and in the process create excitement and a stronger community that will pay off upon release.

🔥 Press Worthy

• TikToker Ari Elkins starts a Spotify Live.

• Lilly Singh is launching a YouTube animated series.

• Safiya Nygaard signs with Night management company.

• Everything you need to create and sell merch.*

• How ZHC earned 24 million subscribers.

• TikTok releases its Showbiz List.

• YouTube highlights the most replayed parts of videos.

*This is sponsored advertising content.