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- ⏪ Smosh Makes A Return, A Look Into the Titanic Sub, Creator Turns into AI, and More.
⏪ Smosh Makes A Return, A Look Into the Titanic Sub, Creator Turns into AI, and More.
Smosh founders buy back the brand, a creator who almost went on the expedition on the fatal Titanic sub gives an insider's look, a creator has given his channel to an AI version of himself, and more. This week in creator economy news:
Luke Himmelsbach
June 28, 2023
Hope everyone who went to VidCon had a blast, I lived vicariously through all of your pics and posts, and I’m pumped to make it to the next creator meet up to meet all of you awesome readers and creators. 😎
I’m only five LinkedIn followers away from doing another mic giveaway, so if you’re not following already, be sure to click my name below to have a chance to win an Audio Technica USB/XLR mic!
No other big updates from me this week, so on to the latest stories in creator news.
Smosh is Back?! 😍
With this week’s news of Smosh’s founders, Anthony Padilla & Ian Hecox buying back their brand from Mythical, the creator space is buzzing and children of YouTube are feeling nostalgic.
While Ian and Anthony left (and sold) Smosh for varied reasons, in the process, their friendship went with the wind. It’s only because they were able to take a step back from content and their relationship that they are able to come back together now, Ian shares in an interview.
While the boys are back in town, one half of the duo hopped on one of my favorite podcasts, Chuckle Sandwich. This episode is not only hysterical, but also an insanely intriguing look at the origins of YouTube and the conception of Smosh.
This interview explores topics like when YouTube was in Beta mode and giving away free iPod’s to users (which Anthony sold to buy his first camera), diving into Smosh before and after YouTube, the selling of the company, and beyond.
If you were a fan of Smosh, then this episode is absolutely for you. Cue the nostalgia!
A Creator’s Look Into the Titanic Sub ⚠️
Longtime creator and adventurer, Jake Koehler (better known as DALLMYD), was almost one of the victims of the tragic sub accident that left five dead.
Jake creates content all around diving and exploring interesting water-centric places. So when he had the opportunity to take a trip down to the Titanic and bring his camera gear with him, he jumped on it.
In this video recently posted by Jake, we get an inside look at everything that went into this mission and sub. From the boat they were staying on to being inside the sub and getting locked in, we get to see it all.
While filming the video, many things seemed to be going wrong with the soon to be doomed vessel. From issues with the computer systems that control the sub, to inclement weather, it seems even Jake wasn’t too sure what could have caused this issue.
While many may say this whole concept is dumb, Jake makes a fantastic point that can sum up this wild idea, tragedy, and encapsulate his love for adventure. In the video, Jake somberly shares, “if you're chasing big dreams and pushing your limits obviously dangerous things can happen.”
If you want to get a peek behind the curtain on this project and see how things operated on these mission, definitely go check out Jake’s video below.
Creator Economy News 🚨
This week in the creator world, a content creator clones himself and gives his channel to his AI counterpart, YouTube getting some A/B thumbnail testing features, the biggest takeaways from VidCon, new ways to sell on TikTok, and more.
Has anyone seen the new Black Mirror episode, ‘Joan Is Awful’? If you have, this might sound a bit familiar. Creator Kwebbelkop has cloned himself and will allow his AI replica be the new face of his channel. Let’s hope it doesn’t take a weird, dark turn like we’ve seen before. 🤖
YouTube announces that they’re rolling out a type of A/B testing for thumbnails. Creators will be able to help you compare the performance of up to three thumbnails and winner. I’m curious to see how the testing will work 🤔
More YouTube news for ya! YT is set to roll out some mobile gaming features under a new product dubbed “Playables.” Pro tip for YT: just bring back Doodle Jump and Temple Run, you’ll win all the millennials.
You should see these 👀
Didn’t go to VidCon? Yea same 🥲. Well if you’re like me, you can still check out the biggest takeaways from the event. I’ll save you the click with this breakdown: Fake Logan Pauls, more attendees were creators themselves rather than just fans, many major creators missed the event for Cannes, and social shopping reigned as champion.
Now I’m a big hip hop head, and Paris Texas is a super cool new(ish) duo in the rap game. So when I saw Noel Miller popping up in one of their album release videos it was like two of my favorite worlds colliding. Shout out to Noel & Paris Texas.
Amaze and TikTok team up to allow creators to begin selling their own, custom products directly on the TT app. Sounds like Amaze is bullish on TT sticking around for the long haul.
YouTuber, podcaster, & comedian, Kurtis Conner has launched a new outlet for his community on a metaverse-like platform called Worlds. I’m curious to see how fans will engage with this platform rather than something like a Discord or Patreon. Do you think we’ll start seeing more creator adoption of these metaverse worlds?
Creator Spotlight 🔦
Meet Josh Kreuger!
Josh is a killer creator who focuses on adventure and trying crazy social experiments as he brings us along for the ride.
At just 19 years old, Josh has already hit over 100k subs on YouTube and continues to grow his channel with his wild videos and series. From creating videos like trading a rubber band to a car, building Airrack a pizza delivery truck, letting his day get controlled by AI or even strangers, Josh continues to push the envelope in terms of creating interesting and hyper-engaging content.
I had the pleasure of meeting Josh this week and I can tell he’s going to continue to be a creator who stands out from the pack with his content.
From his questions and curiosity about different aspects of the creator space, to his drive to create better content every time he uploads, and his professionalism in terms of care for craft, Josh will most definitely be a creator whose name you’ll continue to hear.
Keep up the awesome work and keep that drive for creation going, Josh, I’m pumped to see the big things you do! 💪
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. 😎