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Creators

YouTube, Instagram, SoundCloud, and other online platforms are changing the way people create and consume media. The Verge's Creators section covers the people using these platforms, what they're making, and how those platforms are changing (for better and worse) in response to the vloggers, influencers, podcasters, photographers, musicians, educators, designers, and more who are using them. The Verge’s Creators section also looks at the way creators are able to turn their projects into careers — from Patreons and merch sales, to ads and Kickstarters — and the ways they’re forced to adapt to changing circumstances as platforms crack down on bad actors and respond to pressure from users and advertisers. New platforms are constantly emerging, and existing ones are ever-changing — what creators have to do to succeed is always going to look different from one year to the next.

Featured stories

Twitter is adding crowdsourced fact checks to images

The feature comes a week after a fake image of an ‘explosion’ near the Pentagon went viral.

The odd appeal of absurdly long YouTube videos that play nothing on purpose

How many hours would you spend watching a timer count down? Or a blank screen just... be blank?

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The Verge
I just got rid of 1,000 photos from my iPhone in less than a minute.

My phone just ran out of storage, which is perfect timing as I’ll be flying out on vacation tomorrow. Thankfully, I was able to quickly free up storage by backing up my photos to iCloud and removing them from my phone. You might want to learn how to do this, too, if you’re planning on traveling this summer!


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The Verge
I visit Twitch nearly every day, and somehow I didn’t know about Turbo until I had to write about it today.

And it wasn’t the best introduction — the subscription, which removes most ads, is getting more expensive! But you might be hearing more about Turbo soon, as the company promises that new features are on the way.


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People under 30 do not read this.

Hello, fellow olds. Let’s help solve a mystery. Remember that cover of A Wrinkle in Time with the centaur that’s got wings for arms? The nightmare-fuel one? Okay. Does anyone know who designed it?


The unbearable lightness of BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed built a digital media empire in part by aggregating viral content from social media. A decade later, what’s next?

Roblox goes to college

As a semester-long collaborative course between Parsons School of Design and Roblox comes to a close, students and faculty consider what fashion’s future might look like.

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External Link
That’s not what I’d call a denial.

The New York Times reports that TikTok’s internal Slack-like tool, Lark, has made data on American users visible to teams in China — very much the kind of thing US regulators have been worried about.

In response, TikTok’s spokesperson seems to say something along the lines of we’re getting better. But it’s very much not a this isn’t happening.

Alex Haurek, a TikTok spokesman, called the documents seen by The Times “dated.” He said they did not accurately depict “how we handle protected U.S. user data, nor the progress we’ve made under Project Texas.”


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Youtube
Human Grimes reviews AI Grimes.

The New York Times had Grimes weigh in on a handful of songs that were put through a Grimes voice cloning tool — and some of them aren’t bad!

The tool, Elf.tech, came shortly after the artist said she’d “split royalties 50/50” with anyone who makes an AI Grimes hit. The one below is Grimes’ (and my) favorite — but sorry, it’s no Kill V. Maim.


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The official Bluesky FAQ means well, but it’s not telling the truth.

Whether you’ve snagged an invite code or not, the User FAQ for Bluesky is here to explain what you need to know about the Twitter-like service, the AT protocol, and even how to find your friends from other networks once you’re in.

But we will have to fact-check a section that is incorrect:

What is a post on Bluesky called?

The official term is “post.”

Liz Lopatto already told you, they’re skeets now. They even have a song.


Bluesky User FAQ

[blueskyweb.xyz]

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Youtube
It’s Friday, just watch this guy build amazing frankenbikes for the rest of the day.

It’s hard to pick a favorite bike build at The Q YouTube channel. The split wheel one? Square wheels? The bendy, locky one?

For the intersection of people who love engineering, bikes, and ASMR. Go watch.


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Youtube
Hank Green shared that he’s been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The longtime YouTuber, science educator, and author said he’ll take a break from creating videos while being treated and asked fans to send him recommendations for movies to watch and games to play that are “really dumb things that will not make you cry.” True to form, Green still manages to go off on an educational science tangent while sharing the news.


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TikTok
We found it, the unofficial theme song of Bluesky.

Please imagine this playing when I compose my little skeets.


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What’s MKBHD’s favorite phone of all time?

Read today’s Reddit AMA to find out.


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Youtube
Linus Sebastian doesn’t want to be the boss anymore.

Linus Sebastian of LinusTechTips is stepping down as CEO of Linus Media Group effective July 1st, 2023, and is handing off the reins to Terren Tong, his former boss at NCIX. Sebastian says he’s shifting to Chief Vision Officer, which he thinks sounds like a “stupid, BS-sounding, made-up role.”

From our perspective, nothing will change — Sebastian will still be in lots of videos. Maybe more, he says.


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TikTok
Can you even watch this video in Montana?

Well, maybe not in 2024 if a new law banning TikTok within the state takes effect. Makena Kelly can explain more.