Creator Middle Class Squeezed by Budgets and Algorithms
How The Creator Economy Actually Works in 2026 Two opposing pressures squeeze the creator middle class One is financial: brand budgets funnel to the mega-stars at the top and the micro-creators and UGC at the bottom, skipping the middle The other is structural: reach follows interest now, not following, so a mid-tier audience no longer guarantees views https://www.netinfluencer.com/how-the-creator-economy-actually-works-in-2026/
Cannes Lions Goes Mainstream: Micro‑Creators Feel Welcome
"Why Everyone You Know Is Headed to Cannes Lions This Summer" I asked creators and marketing leaders why it seems like the entire marketing industry is packing up and heading to the south of France, including this insight from @onegirloneworld: "I think...
Brands Win on Shorts by Thinking Like Creators
The brands winning on Shorts aren’t acting like advertisers — they’re following the creator playbook 1. They work with other creators as collaborators 2. The content is story-led, not product-led 3. They understand the YouTube ecosystem beyond ads
Instagram's Future: AI‑personalized Feeds Tailored by Paid Tiers
With all of Instagram’s different paid subscriber tiers and features: What happens when every Instagram user has a different app? If every feed is fully AI personalized and then optimized based on your paid status, each Meta user becomes their own...
Meta Rolls Out Paid Premium Tools for Creators
Meta announced new subscription plans for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp Meta’s head of product, Naomi Gleit, said the plans would provide premium tools and features for brands and creators According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook Plus and Instagram Plus will be...
Instagram Pivots to Champion Long‑form Creators for Next Years
Instagram’s VP of Product says she’s thinking about how the platform can best support long-form creators over the next 1-2 years — a complete reversal of IG's previous focus on short-form, shareable content https://liahaberman.substack.com/p/icymi-instagrams-return-to-long-form
Human Artist Crafts AI Meme for Devil Wears Prada 2
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Hired a Human Artist to Create the Film’s AI-Generated Meme https://variety.com/2026/film/news/the-devil-wears-prada-2-human-artist-ai-generated-meme-1236736381/
Embrace Awkwardness: Fun Collaboration with Teachable & Jayde
This was such a fun project to shoot with @teachable and @jaydeipowell (Also if you’ve ever worried you’re too awkward to be on camera, literally just watch me 🤪 zero chill)
Instagram Reassures Meme Creators, Cracks Down on Content Thieves
Instagram isn't trying to get rid of memes — they actually had a call to reassure meme creators on Thursday They're trying to get rid of aggregators that rip off other people's content
Half of Gen Z Want to Live in 2016
2016 nostalgia isn’t fading: A new report says nearly half of Gen Z would choose to live in the past if they could Vine and Friendster are making a comeback And I talked to @alenayuann who’s crushing it across social — she...
Snapchat Founder Evan Spiegel Becomes Silicon Valley’s Voice of Reason
My mid 2010s self would never have predicted Evan Spiegel as Silicon Valley's voice of reason (for context, he co-founded Snapchat at 21) https://www.businessinsider.com/snaps-spiegel-coming-backlash-against-ai-2026-4
Life‑stage Moments Drive Purchase Intent More than Age
Interesting new Meta study 👀 The largest behavioral gaps Meta found aren't between generations —they're between lifestages Someone going through a key lifestage (eg graduating, getting married, having a baby) shows up to 26 percentage points higher purchase intent than someone who...
AI Will First Dominate Insights, Content; Humans Keep Strategy
Which aspects of brand social media do you think get taken over by Agentic AI first versus the parts that cling to 💯 human? 🔘 Insights + measurement 🔘 Social strategy 🔘 Content creation 🔘 Channel management 🔘 Influencer management 🔘 Community engagement
Brands Are Mastering Reddit Beyond Ads and AMAs
This week I wrote about how brands are cracking Reddit — and not just with AMAs or ads on the platform 🛀🏼 Dove incorporated Reddit comments into a campaign 💵 Fidelity Investments hosts a community hub for investors 🥯 Philadelphia Cream Cheese gifted...
Instagram Testing BeReal‑style App, Not yet US‑available
Instagram seems to be testing a new app - maybe like BeReal - but unfortunately not available in the US