In a YouTube creator update, Susan Wojcicki defends hiding dislikes, discusses adding NFT support, says creators making >$10K/year increased 40% YoY, and more
YouTube is touting the explosive popularity of its TikTok-style short-form Shorts video feature — and says it's going to test …
VarietyTodd Spangler
Context & Ripple Effects
YouTube had already committed $100M to Shorts creators to build its TikTok competitor, after reporting earlier growth in channels reaching seven-figure subscriber counts and creators earning at least five figures. The latest creator update extends that retention effort beyond payouts to product testing, creator economics and platform-governance choices.
Related coverage soon centers on new Shorts editing and monetization tools and broader Shopping and Studio updates, placing the update within a continuing push to make YouTube's creator stack more competitive.
First-order effects
Shorts creators are the immediate audience for YouTube's planned feature tests, while the reported increase in creators earning more than $10,000 annually strengthens YouTube's case that its monetization system is expanding.
YouTube's hidden-dislike policy changes the public feedback signal available on creators' videos; possible NFT support remains a discussed, rather than launched, creator feature.
Second-order effects
TikTok faces a more sustained response from YouTube: the earlier Shorts fund is being complemented by creation and monetization tooling rather than treated as a one-off incentive.
Creator businesses gain more reason to concentrate production and audience monetization inside YouTube as Shorts tools, Shopping and Studio capabilities are expanded.
Third-order effects
If YouTube keeps joining short-form distribution with editing, monetization and commerce tools, creator-platform competition will increasingly turn on the completeness of each platform's operating stack, not just audience reach.
Platform governance decisions such as hidden dislike counts become part of the creator-economy product: YouTube is shaping both creators' earning tools and the public signals around their work.
The trend: Short-form video platforms are evolving from audience-acquisition products into integrated creator businesses combining incentives, production tools, monetization and moderation controls.
Yeah, “This just crashed and lost trillions which is A LOT even in fake internet money... let's get a piece!” definitely sounds like a YouTube decision https://twitter.com/...
It's telling that a LOT of execs are publicly talking about their NFT plans before implementing them. This can frequently be a way for companies to gauge interest. It's also telling that they KEEP doing it when the response to every tease like this is almost universally negative …
It's going to happen regardless of what you think of it, so might as well try to understand it and see if it's something worth embracing 😊 https://www.bloomberg.com/...
More people are creating content on YouTube than ever before...and we just hit 5 trillion all time views on Shorts! Check out my annual letter to learn how we're growing our ecosystem, supporting creators, innovating and protecting the YouTube community: https://blog.youtube/...
it would be really cool if the invisible hand of the free market would compel the creation of literally any user-generated video streaming platforms to compete with youtube https://twitter.com/...
YouTube's CEO announces that they're exploring NFTs. This reminds me of last year's frenzy around social audio when Clubhouse was hot. And just like last year, big tech is being out executed by Twitter. https://blog.youtube/...
YouTube wants to shift the conversation to Shorts, NFTs, how much more money creators make on the platform compared to its competitors, or really anything else. The most vocal users, however, just want their dislike counter back. https://twitter.com/...
+ We've now hit 5 trillion all-time views on Shorts! + We're investing in Music, Gaming, Shopping, Web3, Sustainability and more + Pre-publish checks and more tools for creators Read the entire letter here: https://blog.youtube/...