Happy Wednesday everyone! Just in case you missed it, we had some insanely exciting announcements released yesterday and we are continuing forward with our goal of empowering 1M+ creators through the power of connection and mentorship. Let's grow together! 💪 P.s. if you like this weekly growth newsletter, consider sharing it with a creator friend. it means the world to me and helps get this information in front of more creators!

Now, onto the news!

-Luke

Prime Energy on the Black Market ⚡️

While prepping this newsletter, I was planning on writing a piece covering the YouTube update of having the ability to dub your videos in multiple languages, but I came across something even better... I covered that topic briefly below, but I'm sure you've already read about that, so check this out... 👀

Primary schools throughout the UK are banning Prime Energy due to the insane popularity, demand, & the rise of black market sales. Now, "black market" is a bit of a clickbait line. My classmates were never running a "black market candy business" when they were selling candy in middle school, but the premise still stands.

Uber popular items will be sold amongst students, especially if that item is in the food or drink category. But there's something different about this brand compared to an M&M's or Snickers. Logan Paul and KSI being two of the biggest stars on YouTube make this drink essentially become a part of their merch line, and they know that younger kids will flock to represent their favorite creators.

Now, this is getting a bit crazier than just supporting your favorite creator. With a massive influx in advertising, coupled with short supply of the drink, people are turning to purchasing these resale bottles at massive mark ups, with a bottle going for £3 and sometimes reselling for over £25 per bottle.

With this rise in popularity, security tags have been added to some bottles, some have been moved behind the counter with nicotine and alcohol, and schools have taken to outright banning the product.

So, is this super fandom and support due to the drink being insanely good? (Even though I've heard it's tasty,) Probably not. The celeb status of KSI & Paul are pushing this product to be one of the most popular energy drinks on the market, and that's nothing to bat an eye at.

While this is causing some issues with kids in school, I do have to admit it's pretty cool to see creators disrupting an industry so effectively. What creator product do you think will be banned in schools next!?

[Read More]

AI Everything 🤖

AI this AI that, I know I know, you're probably sick of it. But I wanted to take a moment to cover some of the biggest AI updates for you this week. Snapchat & Meta both introduced some computer buddies for you to chat with.

This week, Snapchat announced 'My AI' and Meta teased 'AI Personas.'

Snapchat's 'My AI' is currently available for Snapchat+ subscribers ($3.99/month). This bot will live in your friend list, waiting for you to talk to it..... Yea, creepy, I agree...

But it gets weirder. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel mentions that the main reasoning behind this is that “in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day.” My reaction to this statement: "🙃"

So yea, Snap is rolling out their AI buddy, and at the same time, Meta announces their own AI integration for WhatsApp and Messenger called 'AI Personas.' Now, the details weren't laid out on this one at all, but Zuck is seemingly hopping on the bandwagon so he doesn't get left behind (classic).

What we do know about this is that Meta will be focusing on AI to explore "creative and expressive tools," and to make things even more blanketed, they want to create "AI personas that can help people in a variety of ways."

The rise of AI and the releases of these new systems are bound to either disrupt industries, or make people stray away from certain platforms based on the way they utilize their AI systems.

What do you think of the rise of AI? Can it be a tool for creators to develop ideas? Will we see people engaging more with their Snapchat AI buddy rather than their IRL friends? So many questions to be answered and with this tech evolving so rapidly, how will this continue to effect creators and the general public?

Creator Economy News 🚨

This week in the creator world, New YT features get announced, Jellysmack makes big moves with Roku, Jake Paul taking L's, Rebecca Black makes a return, and more.

• YouTube introduces some new tools including moderator roles for Live Chats, new metrics in YTA, and the expansion of Creator Music to all YPP creators in the US.

• Jellysmack announces their collab with Roku Inc. (yes, the TV company) to get 17 creators on a Roku native streaming channel. Could this be a YouTubeTV competitor? 👀

• YouTube also announces the ability to have your videos dubbed in multiple languages. This is a massive update for those looking to expand their reach into bigger (or more niche) markets than the US.

You should see these 👀

• Jake Paul takes an L during his boxing match against undefeated Tommy Fury.

• Gotta get down on Friday... You guys remember Rebecca Black? Well, she's back with an LP, and I could honestly see this being on the radio. What do you guys think?

• This AI platform will create a video for you based off of a prompt. Will this cause a rise in barrier to entry for up & coming editors?

Creator Spotlight 🔦

Meet Brad & Liam from Discover Connection!

Discover Connection is a channel that was recently shared with me from a fellow creator, and I was immediately enthralled in their most recent expedition & video. Crossing America on nothing but the kindness of strangers (seriously), Brad & Liam started the first video in their series trekking from Boston all the way to Pennsylvania (I thought that dude in NYC was going to rob them for sure LOL).

It was hard to take my eyes off of this one. From being hungry to know their next move to wanting to see how their choices played out, this series is going to make Discover Connection blow up even bigger than they already are.

While their other videos are just as entertaining, I'm super excited to continue to watch Brad & Liam on their journey crossing the states off of the kindness of strangers. It should be pretty interesting when they get to the mid-west, I hope they brought some warm clothes!

Want to go even further? 🚀

If you’d like to keep learning about topics like the ones shared above, stick around! But more importantly, check out the links below to further your development as a creator. 😎

1. Join our free creator community

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