The Verge - Creators |
- Khaby Lame is now the most-followed TikToker in the world
- Snapchat will pay emerging Black creators $10,000 a month to make more content
- TikTok comes to Vizio TVs
- Twitter makes it easier for your profile page to advertise what you’re selling
| Khaby Lame is now the most-followed TikToker in the world Posted: 23 Jun 2022 10:16 AM PDT  TikTok has a new reigning champion. Khaby Lame, a 22-year-old Senegalese-born creator, became the most-followed person on TikTok last night, surpassing American TikTok star Charli D'Amelio, who formerly had the distinction. Lame now has more than 142.7 million followers compared to D'Amelio's 142.3 million. Lame, who's based in Italy, initially rose to fame through his use of TikTok's duet and stitch features, reacting wordlessly to complicated and absurd "life hacks." He now primarily posts silent comedy skits, racking up millions of views and likes. His following began exploding last year, and in recent weeks, fans have launched efforts to push him to the top. Lame's ascent and unseating of D'Amelio is significant. D'Amelio and her sister, Dixie, are two of the central figureheads of TikTok, building an entire media brand atop what they themselves admit was initially accidental stardom. Their meteoric rise to fame through seconds-long dancing videos has perplexed people not on TikTok — and inspired millions of followers to try to do the same. The sisters earned an estimated $27.5 million last year, according to estimates by Forbes. Lame becoming the most popular personality on TikTok is notable given past issues raised by users on the platform around how creators of color — and specifically Black creators — are treated. In 2020, in response to accusations that the TikTok algorithm suppresses Black creators' content, the company pledged to take steps, including creating a diversity council and donating money to nonprofits "that help the Black community." Last year, citing a lack of credit for choreographing viral dances to hit songs, some Black creators took part in an informal strike, refusing to create dances that otherwise might disproportionately benefit white creators. |
| Snapchat will pay emerging Black creators $10,000 a month to make more content Posted: 23 Jun 2022 09:00 AM PDT  Twenty-five Black Snapchat creators will receive funding, mentorship, and other resources through a one-year accelerator program, the company announced today. The program follows similar efforts at other major platforms to provide support to emerging creators from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. "Black creators face unique systemic barriers across the creator industry — from disparities in compensation and attribution, to toxic experiences and more," Snap says. "We believe one of the ways we can help remove some of those barriers is to provide mentorship and financial resources to emerging Black creators in the early stages of their professional career." The resources Snap says it will offer selected applicants range from monthly stipends and mentoring to early access to product updates. First, Snap will give each participant $10,000 per month for 12 months "to support the applicants' creative endeavors." They'll also get an upgrade to Snapchat Star status, be invited to provide feedback on new Snapchat features, and receive a Google Pixel 7 Pro. Snap is the latest tech company to launch programs for underrepresented groups of creators in recent years, committing money and other resources while acknowledging the barriers they might face in their work. Earlier this year, YouTube announced it had selected grantees for its #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund — a continuation of a 2020 promise to spend $100 million to "amplify" Black creators over the course of three years. "The launch of this accelerator program is part of our broader, ongoing efforts to ensure that content on our platform reflects the diversity of Snapchatters and their interests," the company says. The program is in partnership with Google Pixel, UNCMMN, and Westbrook Media and is part of Snap's 523 program, "designed to support and spotlight small, minority-owned content companies and creatives that traditionally lack access and resources." Applications for Snapchat's program are open through August 12th, and creators will be selected by early September. |
| Posted: 23 Jun 2022 03:00 AM PDT  Vizio has become the latest smart TV manufacturer to get a TikTok app, allowing owners to watch the short-form focused video platform on the big screen. It's just the latest manufacturer to add TikTok to its TV platform, after the app came to Samsung and LG's TVs, Android TV, and Amazon's Fire TV platforms last year. Vizio says you'll be able to browse TikTok's Discover feed, or link an account to watch video content from the For You and Following feeds. The apps are arriving as TikTok is allowing users to upload longer and longer videos to its historically short-form service. In February, TikTok expanded its maximum video length to 10 minutes, at which point it probably makes sense to watch it on the big screen. That said, TikTok's videos are still formatted for portrait viewing, which leads to a lot of empty screen real-estate on standard 16:9 aspect ratio TVs (Samsung's gimmicky rotating TVs notwithstanding) According to Protocol, TikTok's increasing focus on TV viewing could help it expand its audience, and benefit from the premium prices associated with TV-based advertising. In the US, over a hundred million people now watch YouTube through their TVs each month, and this has helped Google's video service generate billions of dollars of advertising revenue for the company each quarter. |
| Twitter makes it easier for your profile page to advertise what you’re selling Posted: 22 Jun 2022 05:00 AM PDT  Twitter is partnering with Shopify on an integration that will keep a seller's Twitter profile page updated with direct links to the products they have for sale. Shopify users who install the new Twitter add-on can connect their Twitter account with Shopify and then start building out a store on Twitter with the platform's Shop Module. The new add-on automatically loads a merchant's products from Shopify onto Twitter, which then appear in a carousel on the Twitter profile. Users can browse through or expand the carousel to view up to 50 products — selecting a product redirects users to the merchant's website for purchase. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23643038/twitter_channel_shopify_announcement.png) Image: Twitter Shop owners can also use the Twitter add-on to sync their Shopify product inventory with Twitter. This should eliminate the need for merchants to update each item individually when making changes to their products' details or as items go in and out of stock. In addition to the partnership with Shopify, Twitter announced that it's expanding the beta of its Twitter Shops and Shop Spotlight — tools that let merchants show off products on their profiles — to all brands based in the US. Until now, the features were only available to a select group of merchants. While Twitter partnered with Shopify in 2015 on "buy now" buttons that appeared within tweets, it didn't really take off — Twitter retired the feature in 2017. But as Twitter continues to actively roll out dedicated tools for merchants — and with a new owner who wants to find non-advertising-based revenue — a Shopify integration starts to make more sense. Earlier this month, Twitter rolled out a new feature on iOS that lets merchants tease upcoming products with reminders before they go on sale. And just like Amazon, eBay, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, Twitter is also experimenting with live shopping features. |
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