TikTok’s Doll Collector ControversyCREATOR ECONOMY NEWSLETTER
Issue #81 | Nov. 8, 2022
Niche subcultures thrive on TikTok. Cannamoms, furries, adult age regressors, and more use the platform to find community and destigmatize their unique interests. However, the platform can breed hate against many marginalized creators who make it to the “wrong side of TikTok.”
This week, Passionfruit contributor Charlotte Colombo explains the TikTok community of “Reborn” doll creators—aka, the collectors of hyper-realistic baby dolls—who faced controversy after one of their own began “dumping” baby formula amidst the 2022 baby formula shortage. Colombo spoke with multiple Reborn creators about how the controversy brought harassment, death threats, and reputational damage upon the Reborn TikTok community.
– Grace Stanley, Passionfruit Reporter
THE HIGHLIGHT
How a national baby formula shortage rocked TikTok’s community of ‘Reborn’ doll collectors
“I’m constantly dealing with hate comments and accusations about this issue.”
By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor
SPONSORED
Courses designed with content creators in mind
Take a seat in Nas Academy’s virtual classroom and learn valuable skills to supercharge your content creation business. The flagship Creator Accelerator Program promises to help you grow your social media reach tenfold in just five months. Join the waitlist or check out some of Nas Academy’s other courses to build something unforgettable.
ONE GREAT TIP
“What can give them the most to walk away and chew on? Whether that’s having a moment where they realize that they have their own biases … or leaving them with a question they can really ponder … They can walk away and feel like you really delivered on something that you promised to them.”
—Jubilee Director Bonnie Black on video conclusions. Read more in our October 2022 interview.
TIPS AND TRICKS
Visual effects creator Brandon Baum shares advice for crafting a personal video style
“I have a repeatable formula to generate content that utilizes anticipation, expectation, and surprise tied together with effects.”
By Grace Stanley, Passionfruit Reporter
TOOLS REVIEW
Here are the 5 best content creator kits for YouTubers in 2023
A number of companies offer bundles that give you everything you need to jumpstart a YouTube career.
By Rachel Kiley, Passionfruit Contributor
IN THE BIZ
- Hank Green criticized Elon Musk over creator monetization.
- Advertisers are growing skeptical of Twitter. (via Marketing Brew)
- Amidst a Twitter exodus, there is growing interest in open-source social platform Mastodon. (via the New York Times)
- Substack is launching a discussions tool, called Substack Chat. (via TechCrunch)
- NFT marketplace OpenSea is updating its royalty payment policies. (via the Information)
- Encrypted messaging app Signal is launching a Stories feature. (via TechCrunch)
- YouTube creators can soon invite co-hosts to their live streams. (via Tubefilter)
TIKTOK MADE ME DO IT
Here’s a hack for getting over your ex.
