Good morning. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of the hit video game series Super Smash Bros., announced that his educational YouTube channel “Creating Games” is coming to an end on October 15.
Sakurai did, however, tease a “special finale episode.” If it’s anything like the games he directed over the course of his career, this is gonna be one epic sendoff.
Why Finance Creator Your Rich BFF Partnered with Vox Media
“Your Rich BFF,” Vivian Tu, partners with Vox Media and PS for her video podcast / Photography by Brendan Wixted
This week, finance creator Vivian “Your Rich BFF” Tu announced that she’s partnering with Vox Media and wellness brand PS (formerly known as PopSugar) to launch the second season of her Networth & Chill podcast in a video format.
The main reason for the tie-in? To save Tu time. The show’s first season registered north of 2 million downloads, but Tu found herself spending days filming separate clips in order to promote the podcast on her social channels.
Prioritizing video is a higher lift upfront—though it streamlines her process, as she can cut up episode highlights more easily.
“I wanted to work smarter so I didn’t have to duplicate work,” she told Business Insider.
Context: A former trader on Wall Street, Tu has built a following of almost 7 million across creator platforms mainly by explaining complex financial topics in 30 seconds to her fans—many of whom come from marginalized communities or don’t fit the stereotype of finance (which Tu labels “male, pale, and stale”).
Tu launched Networth & Chill in 2023 to match her audience’s demand for more in-depth breakdowns, and the show’s success attracted Vox.
Zoom out: Podcasting is often an unlock for creators covering thorny topics like personal finance. After all, 63% of consumers say they “trust their favorite podcast host more than their favorite social media influencer,” according to a recent survey commissioned by Spotify.
YouTube Expands Shorts to Three Minutes
YouTube Short triples its video length limit / Illustration by Moy Zhong
The short-form vertical video wars are heating up. YouTube creators can upload Shorts up to three minutes long starting October 15, the company announced this week. Previously, Shorts maxed out at 60 seconds.
“This was a top requested feature by creators, so we’re excited to give you more flexibility to tell your story,” YouTube wrote in a blog post. The update will apply to videos that “are square or taller in aspect ratio” moving forward.
Here’s how Shorts stacks up with two of YouTube’s biggest rivals, Instagram and TikTok:
Instagram has a similar three-minute cap on Reels, but creators can post videos up to 60 minutes long to their Feeds.
TikTok also allows creators to upload hour-long videos—though they can’t be longer than 10 minutes if they were recorded in the app.
While we’re here: YouTube is also beefing up its short-form offering with a new “template” feature that lets creators recycle formats and match their own clips with trending sounds from other Shorts—similar to a tool TikTok introduced in 2022.
MrBeast Acquires Creator Hiring Startup Vouch
MrBeast (right) acquires creator job platform Vouch (left) / Vouch, Photography by Steven Khan/CC BY 4.0
MrBeast has acquired Vouch, a platform that lets creators launch customized job recruitment sites and grow their teams, according to Business Insider.
Since Vouch launched in 2023, creators including Jesser, Safiya Nygaard, and Yes Theory have posted job openings on the platform.
Looking ahead: MrBeast intends to use their new acquisition for “internal hiring efforts” before spinning out an updated version for creators.
FYI: The acquisition news follows several controversies at MrBeast, including a lawsuit filed against the company by five Beast Games contestants.
🔥 Press Worthy
Kai Cenat teases a collaboration with McDonald’s.
Markiplier updates fans on when they can expect to see his Iron Lung movie.
X is now worth 80% less than when Elon Musk bought it.
The Hollywood Reporter is releasing a “Creators A-List” issue next week.
Google’s NotebookLM tool turns text articles into AI-generated conversational podcasts.
📚 Thank You For Pressing Publish
The content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.
Read: Psychology and culture lecturer Andrew Solomon writes about the adverse effect “doom scrolling” has on young people in The New Yorker.
Watch: Public Opinion attends NYC Climate Week and interviews five different individuals pursuing unique solutions to tackle climate change.
Listen: All Songs Considered rounds up the most exciting new albums out today.
