Along with the usual “will-they-won’t-they” TikTok ban drama, it’s been a pretty creator-heavy week.
More than a dozen influencers are going head-to-head for the third-annual Creator Clash, the controversial Trisha Paytas made her Broadway debut, and writer K Merritt shared some of the ways creators can avoid burnout. We also witnessed the triumphant return of Rooster Teeth, and sat down with Mikey ‘Film Joy’ Neumann to learn all about film criticism on YouTube.
As always, the full articles and videos are all linked below, so if you like the look of these summaries, you know where to find more.
TikTok Could Be Acquired With Sovereign Wealth Fund, Says Trump
Since President Trump extended the “ban or sell” deadline to April 5, many options for TikTok’s future have been floated. This includes a 50-50 sale with the US, buyouts from individuals like MrBeast and Elon Musk, and acquisitions by tech companies like Perplexity AI and Microsoft.
While Trump has advocated for a “bidding war,” his latest scheme appears to involve the Government buying TikTok themselves.
On Monday, Feb. 3, he signed an executive order to set up a sovereign wealth fund for the US — which is essentially a state-owned investment fund. As he signed the executive order, Trump appeared to suggest that this fund might be used to buy TikTok directly.
To dig into the details, check out the full article here.
Creator Clash, an Influencer Boxing Event, Is Returning for a Third Time With Old and New Faces
Creator Clash 3 is coming. This time it’s gonna be bigger and better than ever. The event, which was started by creator iDubbbz, involves influencers from all walks of life facing off in the boxing ring.
The event, which will take place on June 28, is in aid of Stand Up To Cancer, a charity that supports cancer treatment and research. It’ll be located in Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, and will be livestreamed by Veeps.
The headline fight involves Tubbo vs. Sapnap. So far, Creator Clash 3 has confirmed nine fights and eighteen fighters, with more announcements to come. A number of events will precede the fight, along with a docuseries capturing the “grit, grind, and chaos” of training for the event.
To find out the full story, check out the article here.
Don’t Burn Out: How to be Productive as a Digital Content Creator
Being a creator can be incredibly rewarding, but that doesn’t make it easy. Balancing everything while maximizing productivity can be a hard nut to crack, but fortunately, Merritt K is on hand with her best tips and tricks to stay as productive as possible.
Some of her suggestions include writing everything down, grouping your tasks, making a schedule, and doing your research. Arguably, the most important of these suggestions is to avoid burnout because, as Merritt puts it, “productivity is about consistently putting in the effort but also knowing when to stop and rest. And that’s something you’ll only really learn with experience.”
You can find out the rest of the tips in the full article here
When Memes Rot, They Evolve
As writer Steven Asarch points out, memes have shaped internet culture. As they spread, they evolve and mutate over time.
One example he gives is Doge, a Shina Ibu that initially became a response to wholesome content until Billy Markus made him the face of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. But as he does with everything, Elon Musk ruined it, oversaturating the coin until even its original fans got tired of it.
And then there’s Trisha Paytas. The highly controversial YouTube star, who has faced several “cancellations” in the past, is now starring in a one-woman show on Broadway. For Asarch, Paytas is a prime example of what can happen when a meme rot works in that meme’s favor. After all, if we’re honest — Paytas is essentially a walking meme.
You can check out the full piece here.
Rooster Teeth Is Back, and It’s Under Old/New Management
When Rooster Teeth shut down it was a blow for the creator economy — but less than a year later, the beloved production company is back. Moreover, it’s back where it belongs with OG founder Burnie Burns and his company Box Canyon Productions.
Rooster Teeth was originally founded in 2003, and is known for being behind hit online shows like Red vs. Blue and RWBY. On his podcast, Burns said he hopes the company will be back up and running by the summer.
“I am excited at the challenge of bringing Rooster Teeth back to its roots,” Burns added a press release. “The heart of this brand has always been its fans, and I look forward to writing a new chapter together.”
You can find out more about the acquisition here.
Passionfruit on YouTube: FilmJoy’s Mikey Neumann on going from Borderlands to film criticism
In the latest episode of Deep Linkers, we were joined by Mikey Neumann — who’s better known as FilmJoy. Over the years, his YouTube channel has grown to 301,000 subscribers, with his flagship film criticism series Movies with Mikey even winning an Emmy in 2017.
In a past life, Neumann was a creative director in the video games industry. He worked on titles like the Borderlands series and Brothers in Arms. But how exactly did he go from that to becoming one of the most successful video essayists on YouTube? You’ll just have to watch to find out.
