CREATOR NEWSLETTER
Issue #297 | Dec. 10, 2024
Over the past nine years as a digital culture reporter, writing about the dregs of influencer culture and community, one question has kept coming up from viewers and friends: When are you going to start a YouTube channel?
There’s clearly a hunger for the fringes of society I write about. I’ve found that quite a few of my stories have been turned into YouTube video essays that get hundreds of times more views than the articles they are based on. It would be nice to be able to skip the wordy middlemen of traditional media sites and go directly to where the hunger for the content is.
YouTube has always seemed too daunting of a platform — I understand the written word pretty well, but editing video is an entirely different language. Whenever I’d try to teach myself how to use whatever popular free editing software I could find tutorials for, I’d get frustrated and quit within hours. I figured I’d have to collaborate, but finding an editor that can match my style, sense of humor, and overall jazz hand vibe, proved even harder.
It took years, but I finally found the right collaborators with Passionfruit’s talented video team. Together, we created a video that looks into the early days of MrBeast with interviews from multiple former employees. The scripting, research, and edits took months of grueling work but we’ve created one of my proudest pieces of journalism.
Outside of a few outliers, YouTube has lacked journalists in the commentary space. Though many million subscriber channels distill news to their audiences, they fail to follow traditional journalistic rules like asking subjects for comments or fact-checking.
This video from Passionfruit will hopefully be the first of many that raise the bar on what commentary content on YouTube can be.
– Steven Asarch, Passionfruit Contributor
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
MrBeast Employees Speak Out
Passionfruit spoke to two former MrBeast employees, Matt Turner and Jake Weddle, about their experience working in the early days of Jimmy Donaldson’s YouTube channel.
By Steven Asarch, Passionfruit Contributor
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IN THE BIZ
- YouTube is experimenting with multiplayer mini-games.
- Google released its list of the top trending searches of 2024.
- TikTok has partnered with Nielsen to provide ad metrics.
- Sweden is considering age limits for social media to curb gang recruiting.
PLATFORMS
TikTok Files Emergency Motion for Injunction
The injunction is designed to temporarily halt the app’s impending ban.
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
PLATFORMS
Twitch CEO Addresses ‘Adpocalypse’ Allegations
Were creators right all along?
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
UPCOMING EVENTS
- CES Creator Space is Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas.
- 1 Billion Followers Summit is Jan. 11-13 in Dubai.
- Creator Economy Live is Feb. 4-5 in Las Vegas.
- the platform is Mar. 21 in Pittsburgh.
CREATOR SPOTLIGHT
Calling all creators! Want to be featured to Passionfruit’s community? ✨
Make sure to apply to our creator spotlight program! You can find more details and the application here. Happy creating!
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