TGIF! The weekend is almost here, but Siri won’t be taking a break anytime soon. According to a recent Apple patent, the virtual assistant could soon be responsible for reading users’ lips in addition to answering questions.

CASINO CRACKDOWN

Gambling stream viewership is down 75% on Twitch. Here’s why the platform is celebrating:

In September of 2022, Twitch took a major step to protect users from being “exposed” to “potential harm”: it prohibited the “streaming of gambling sites that include slots, roulette, or dice games.” (There was—and is—one hefty condition to that ban; Twitch’s streaming prohibition only applies to sites that “aren’t licensed either in the U.S. or other jurisdictions that provide sufficient customer protections.”)

Several big players fit that bill: so far, sites targeted by Twitch’s ban include Stake.com (which was co-founded by Kick co-founder Ed Craven), Rollbit, Duelbits, Roobet, and—most recently—Blaze and Gamdom.

Blocking those gambling heavyweights has had a major effect on Twitch’s ecosystem.

According to the platform, views of gambling streams have dropped 75% since September 2022. In Twitch’s words, that dramatic decrease proves that “the change had an immediate impact, and that our community has been better protected from scams and related harms”:

Twitch’s ongoing commitment to its gambling ban is good news for its burgeoning rivals. While a solid number of former gambling streamers likely rebranded to stay on Twitch, many fled to gambling-friendly platforms like Kick and Rumble instead. The question now is whether those rivals will be able to maintain unconditional support for gambling creators as their user bases grow and diversify—a conundrum Kick is already confronting head-on.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• YouTube has partnered with Little Dot Studios and the World Health Summit to launch a free ten-week program that will provide guidance to health creators in Europe. (Tubefilter)
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• The Shine Talent Group has announced Shine Ventures, an angel fund that will target early-stage startups working within the digital ecosystem. (Tubefilter)
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• Instagram’s latest anti-troll updates include a one-message limit for users sending chat requests to accounts that don’t follow them. (Engadget)
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• Pinterest say its implementation of “next-generation AI technologies” has contributed to an 8% global monthly active user growth. (TechCrunch)

DATA • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈

Stone Maidens took 14 years to write. It only needed 11 to go viral on TikTok.

In 2012, Lloyd Devereux Richards published his first novel, a Midwest-inspired thriller that was fourteen years in the making. Stone Maidens didn’t generate many sales, but Richards didn’t mind. In fact, he was hard at work on a sequel when something extraordinary happened: eleven years after its publication, a video about Stone Maidens went viral on TikTok.

The creator of that video was none other than Richards’ daughter, Marguerite. After creating an account for Stone Maidens, the younger Richards posted a quick clip in the hopes that “a few people would see it and buy his book and get to appreciate what a good writer he is.”

“A few people” quickly turned into over 50 million views.

According to Marguerite, the Stone Maidens account collected 100,000 followers “within three days.” Fast-forward six months, and the Richards’ following has now grown to 400,000 fans.

That virality has done major things for both Stone Maidens and Richards, who says the positive response to his work has been “so rewarding.” BookTok’s love for his debut novel quickly propelled the book to #1 on Amazon’s bestseller list, and Richards has maintained both a spike in sales and a loyal following ever since. In fact, the author’s fans now hail from all over the world; in addition to the August 1 publication of his second book—Maidens of the Cave—Stone Maidens has been reprinted in Italy, Brazil, and the U.K.

The last six months have been equally rewarding for Marguerite. The younger Richards says she loves the “creative process” of editing videos, and sees her father’s success as proof that “every flower blooms at a different time in the garden.”

PINK SLIPS

Discord just laid off dozens of workers—including most of the team responsible for its creator partnerships

In 2021, Discord began actively courting creators and celebrities. Two years later, it looks like those efforts may have hit a roadblock. Dozens of employees from the platform’s marketing and entertaining partnerships have now been laid off, with at least two addressing the staff cuts on X.

Those layoffs aren’t a good sign for Discord’s creator-first initiative.

Discord servers (which are user-created and can revolve around any topic) have long been popular with people like musicians, indie game developers, and creators as a way to connect with their audiences. Many of those servers now encompass thousands of users each, making up a big chunk of Discord’s 150 million monthly users. In 2021, the platform began catering to the owners of those major servers. It introduced server subscriptions, which allowed owners to place servers and channels behind paywalls while keeping 90% of the revenue their subscriptions generated.

Discord also turned its sights on off-platform influencers and celebrities, in the hopes that stars without current servers would create new ones. Its partnerships team led efforts to recruit well-known creators like Colin and Samir. But despite successful team-ups with that YouTuber duo and other notable figures, Discord’s recent layoffs suggest that its creator-first initiative may not have performed as well as expected:

The partnerships team was led by former VidCon Director of Talent Partnerships and WME agent Kenny Layton (quoted above). Layton joined Discord in 2020, and has been let go alongside most of his team.

WATCH THIS 📺

“The Really Good Podcast” has claimed yet another celebrity victim

If you don’t follow Bobbi Althoff on TikTok, then her latest YouTube interview might seem a little…strange. The creator’s monotone skits, delightfully strange characters, and dry sense of humor have earned her a loyal following across multiple platforms. On TikTok, Althoff’s videos often revolve around her husband and daughter (who she jokingly refers to as ‘Roger’ on the app).

On YouTube, however, “The Really Good Podcast” host targets a different type of victim: notable celebrities like popstar Drake and Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban. Check out Althoff’s most recent video here to find out why Cuban’s feet are covered in a mixture of oil and dirt—and why the billionaire is answering questions on a warehouse floor. 

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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.