Good morning. Tesla finally unveiled its Cybertruck late last week (nearly four years after its initial announcement). Notable features include the world’s longest windshield wiper and a stainless steel exterior. Though in our eyes, it still doesn’t beat creator Simone Giertz’s Truckla…a legendary original that is still humming four years after she made the modified model 3 in an inventive video on her channel.
This Former Vox Video Producer Is Bullish on Creators
Former Vox video producer Phil Edwards has gone all-in on his YouTube channel / Phil Edwards
Several hundred people lost their jobs last Thursday in major layoffs at Vox Media and Condé Nast.
Phil Edwards, a longtime senior video producer at Vox, was impacted by the layoffs. But Edwards, who now plans to work full-time on his independent YouTube channel that currently sits at 263,000 subscribers, told us that he thinks the media world isn’t all “doom-and-gloom.”
His perspective on media’s season of layoffs: During the last several years, Edwards noticed that Vox fell into what he called the “BuzzFeed trap,” where talent (like Johnny Harris and Cleo Abram in Vox’s case) left the company to pursue careers as independent creators.
“Over time, it became clear that [a personal channel] needed to be a tool that you had in your belt just in case things did go south,” Edwards said, noting that he started growing his own channel three years ago.
So why has Vox struggled? Though Edwards focused on creative work and not business strategy, he shared a hypothesis: Vox and other digital media companies that thrived throughout the 2010s have published extensively on creator platforms but struggled to implement common creator revenue streams such as midroll ads or Patreon-style subscriptions.
Big picture: Edwards maintains that there are areas of the “wider media ecosystem” that are “flourishing” as creators such as Abram and Sam Ellis increasingly own and operate their own independent, nimble, and niche media companies—often committing to the same kind of journalistic standards as traditional newsrooms.
“As this creator economy gets bigger, more and more creators are starting to staff up,” he observed.
“What I have been telling [college] students over the past year…is just to be open to this creator world as an alternative job search,” Edwards continued. “A lot of those people [like Harris and Abram] really care about telling stories without compromising the accuracy, the original reporting.”
Montana’s TikTok Ban Grinds to a Halt
A Montana judge rules against a TikTok ban in favor of protecting residents’ data / Illustration by Moy Zhong
Last week, a federal judge in Montana blocked a law that would have banned TikTok in the state starting in the new year. Governor Greg Gianforte said the ban was an effort to protect Montanans’ personal data from the Chinese government.
Why it got the ax: The bill wasn’t “constitutionally permissible,” as the judge said it suppressed speech more than it protected Montanans.
Creators from Montana, including Hank Green, have similarly opposed the ban for its cultural impact.
“If somehow we all stop using TikTok and migrate to Shorts, it won't be a direct port, it will be a moment of cultural destruction,” Green said in a July Vergecast podcast episode.
“Culture is important and I don't think the people writing these laws have an idea of the impact they could have.”
Looking ahead: Montana’s failed attempt to ban TikTok comes just after Indiana’s lawsuit against TikTok for child safety and privacy concerns was put to rest. But worth noting: These losses don’t guarantee the effort to ban TikTok is over, with similar lawsuits in Arkansas and Utah in the works.
Airrack Puts His Channel in MrBeast’s Hands
Airrack (left) taps MrBeast (right) to delete his YouTube channel if he fails to upload every day / Airrack
Airrack’s gift for Vlogmas lovers with a taste for the extreme: The Mafia boss is vlogging every day for the month of December while he travels around the globe, starting with crossing Europe in a straight line.
The stakes: If Airrack fails to upload every day during his journey, MrBeast (who now has Airrack’s login credentials) will delete Airrack’s 14.5 million-subscriber YouTube channel.
FYI: Airrack made a straight-line video crossing America last year.
This time around, he upped the ante: 1) He’s traveling with three teammates and one videographer 2) every vlog has commercial-like segments with a newscaster plugging limited edition merch and 3) he released a highly produced trailer for the challenge.
Zoom out: Daily vlogging is less common on today’s YouTube. Creators like Ryan Trahan and now Airrack are doing it in limited runs on their channels, creating appointment viewing for fans and a fun brand moment for their communities.
👀 Creator Moves
Benjamin “Benoftheweek” De Almeida is hiring a part-time videographer fluent in Gen Z humor.
FazeWorld is hiring for a variety of jobs (including talent coordinator and producer) to help create TV-style content for vertical platforms.
Jesser is hiring an IRL video editor to work on react videos related to testing life hacks.
🔥 Press Worthy
Jaiden Animations reveals a new channel in a self-destructing video.
YouTube Music introduces new features like music moods and custom album art for its Spotify Wrapped competitor, “Recap.”
Jubilee cofounder Ryan Hashemi writes a thread breaking down how they “constantly go viral.”
Reddit overhauls its branding following a reputation-damaging year—and ahead of a rumored IPO in 2024.
Yes Theory releases Talk to Strangers, their book that dives into the group’s founding story.
DIY creator Moriah Elizabeth is releasing a line of plush toys at Walmart.
Paddy Galloway shares how to edit YouTube videos for TV.
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