It’s Friday and as TikTok continues to marvel at this absolutely bonkers AI Willy Wonka “experience,” actors hired to perform at the fiasco are sharing what really went down.

BONUS POINTS

Facebook celebrated Leap Day with unlimited Performance Bonus payouts

One small step for Facebook, one giant leap for creators.

The announcement: On February 29 (aka Leap Day), Meta announced a major change to its Performance Bonus program: the end of monthly payout caps.

• Creators enrolled in the invite-only monetization program—which debuted on Facebook last year—have historically faced a fixed earnings ceiling. That will no longer be the case by mid-March, when Meta says most creators will have access to unlimited rewards.
  
  

• The program’s participants will also hail from more regions than ever before. An incoming expansion will onboard select users from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia, bringing the Performance Bonus Program to a total of 16 countries.

The context: Meta’s transition from ad-based revenue streams to performance-based models has been in the works for a few years now. If the company continues to embrace and expand upon programs that reward creators even in the absence of ads, the massive scale of Facebook alone will give it a significant edge.

• The proof is in the stats: as of December 2023, Facebook’s global monthly active audience reportedly tops three billion users, while TikTok claims roughly one billion monthly users.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• YouTube’s video editing app, YouTube Create, is now available in 21 countries after originally launching in the U.S. last September. (Tubefilter)
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• In an update to its abuse and harassment policies, X says it will "reduce the visibility of posts that purposefully use different pronouns” to deadname or misgender users. (Ars Technica)
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• Meta and LG are joining forces to “expedite” Meta’s “extended reality (XR) ventures” and “drive innovation in customer experiences within the burgeoning virtual space.” (LG Newsroom)
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• After raising $22.5 million in funding, tech startup Vibe aims to help small companies buy ad space on major streaming services through a “self-serve ad platform.” (TechCrunch)

COLUMNS • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈

This standup comedian can win over any audience—including a classroom of kindergarteners

How it started: Joe Dombrowski has been making people laugh since the third grade, when he delivered his first standup routine at a class talent show. A couple decades later, he brought that same energy back to school as a teacher.

• Dombrowski taught elementary school for ten years, during which time he continued pursuing standup. That was partly because “teachers are wildly underpaid”—but also because he just loved the art of comedy.
  
  

• Dombrowski’s students benefited from his comedic talent, too. The creator had a knack for bringing fun into the classroom—especially by way of practical jokes. Eventually, one of those pranks (a fake spelling test) went viral on Facebook. 20 million views later, Dombrowski found himself on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
  
  

• He capitalized on that newfound fame by launching a standup tour, which quickly caught the attention of agents. After that, the comedian embarked on “global tours all over the world” and (with the exception of a pandemic-era return to teaching) has continued building his standup career both on and offline.

How it’s going: Nowadays, Dombrowski is “thriving” as a professional comedian, a short-form creator, and a popular podcaster. His standup special, Don’t Eat the Crayons, dropped on YouTube in November, and he’s since attracted a loyal fanbase by posting clips on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

What’s up next: Dombrowski is already hard at work on his next special. The creator says that show will include “a little bit of teaching material” but has “a bigger theme that I’m keeping to myself for right now.”

• Fans can find out more by checking out our full interview with Dombrowski here.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Viral Nation just revamped its executive team with a new CTO and CPO

Viral Nation is taking its “technological evolution” to the next level with the hiring of two new executives: Snapchat vet Nicholas Spiro and REFACTOR founder Ahmad Nassri. 

The context: Since 2014, Viral Nation has worked with thousands of content creators and brands—including global giants like The Coca-Cola Company, Disney, Microsoft, Meta, and Warner Bros.

• The marketing, technology, and talent management company’s latest development is Viral Nation Ventures, a product development arm that partners with creators to launch bespoke merch.

The CPO: Spiro’s hiring is a natural follow-up to the December launch of Viral Nation Ventures. The newly-minted CPO comes from Snapchat, where he was Director of the platform’s domestic and international product marketing and strategy teams in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

• Spiro’s previous titles include Director of Product Specialists at Twitter and Senior Lead of Product Strategy, Go-To-Market, Business Engineering, and Partner Solutions at Facebook.

The CTO: Nassri brings another crucial skillset to the table. The longtime CTO’s resume includes leadership positions at companies like npm, TELUS, and Kong, as well as founding role at REFACTOR (a community for developers, technologists, and entrepreneurs that encompasses 17,000 members).

• Viral Nation hopes that “proven track record” will position Nassri “as a key driver in Viral Nation’s technological evolution.”

The big picture: As the creator economy expands to encompass a thriving retail sphere, more and more creators are turning to established companies to help with product development, marketing, and distribution. Viral Nation’s latest hires demonstrate its adaptability in that rapidly changing industry—a trait agencies and influencers alike will need to embrace amidst the rise of creator-led brands and generative AI.

WATCH THIS 📺

U.S. TikTokers can now compete for a chance to win €10,000 at this year’s Cannes Film Festival

#TikTokShortFilm: TikTok’s annual Cannes video competition is back for 2024. In a recent Newsroom post, the platform revealed that the latest edition of its #TikTokShortFilm contest will be open to creators in 55 countries (including the U.S.!).

• Interested users can submit artistic, minute-long videos to the competition from now until entries close on March 15.
  
  

• After that, three honorees—one grand prize recipient, one top director, and one winning screenwriter—will receive awards at the Festival De Cannes in May.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.