Creative Control

Back in 2018, Tumblr banned all nudity, which, unsurprisingly, led to a massive dip in page views as well as adult creators being forced off the platform. But earlier this month, Tumblr, under new management, announced it would be relaxing its “no porn” rule to allow some adult content back onto the site. In this episode, Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg breaks down the fine print of what this means for creators and the future of Tumblr.

We're taking a break this week and wishing everyone a warm holiday! When we come back, we'll be talking about what's changing in content policies at Tumblr and the effect of the Facebook Papers one year later.

A few weeks ago, Elon Musk, Twitter’s new CEO, tweeted a poll asking if he should bring back Vine, the short-form video app Twitter purchased in 2012 but shuttered in 2016. Nearly 5 million votes later, 70% of people had voted to resurrect Vine. There were a number of factors that led to the app’s downfall. So if Vine were to come back, what would it need to do differently? More importantly, could it compete with the reigning short-form video juggernaut that is TikTok? To help me unpack this, I interviewed Lauren Schnipper, VP of corporate development at Jellysmack and co-host of the creator economy podcast Creator Upload.

Most creators know they won’t reach the level of getting insanely lucrative brand deals or tens of millions of followers—and that’s perfectly fine. The overall sentiment from creators is that they just want stable and reliable income, i.e. a more robust middle class. It's a reasonable request but one that hasn’t been so easy to attain. A perfect vehicle to explore this right now is Twitch. In case you missed it, there’s been a few changes at Twitch that the company says are in the best interest of creators. But some creators, particularly those in the middle class, aren’t so sure.

When you think about what you’re already shelling out for on-demand entertainment with Netflix, Spotify, Disney+, Apple Music, HBO Max, how do content creators fit within your budget? We conducted a poll to get some answers. And to help me unpack these results, I reached out to Anthony Iaffaldano, VP of sales, marketing, and insights at Fandom.

We’ve explored how algorithms and content moderation can make some creators feel targeted on social platforms. One way creators are getting around being flagged is through algospeak, e.g. using “unalive” instead of dead, “seggs” instead of sex, “corn” instead of porn, etc. Coded internet language has been around for decades, most commonly known as leetspeak. But no matter what you call it, massaging words to sidestep moderation raises some interesting questions we’re exploring in this episode.

If you’re on TikTok, Michael Le has undoubtedly landed on your For You page at some point with his dance videos, which have earned him 52 million followers and more than 10 billion views. Now Michael is launching Joystick, a gaming ecosystem that aims to empower users and content creators to become business owners. According to Michael, the key to his success has been adapting and experimenting both in the content he creates and in his business pursuits. But how do you translate 52 million followers into a new business—especially a new business that many might not see as part of your core brand?

In this special podcast episode, hear the latest on what’s taking place in edge computing and hybrid cloud from a top industry executive at AWS. Also learn how these innovations can ultimately help you transform your business.

 You think you know where a skit from Antonio Baldwin (aka Tony Talks) is headed until the punchlines start hitting you in the most unexpected places. It’s the kind of random comedy that forces you to pay attention—and it’s certainly caught the attention of his growing audience. Tony landed a spot on Fast Company’s inaugural Creator 25 list, and you need only watch his content (and listen to this episode) to understand why.

A lot of people say success in the creator economy is democratized: You put in the work, stay consistent, and you’ll find your audience and revenue. That may be true for some, but for many marginalized creators success feels like a steeper hill to climb than it should be. Discoverability is crucial to any creator’s career online. But what happens when the algorithms powering discoverability seem to be working against you or don’t see you at all?